Autumn Walk Under a Winter Sky
I leave the house as darkness creeps over the afternoon. It’s a winter sky with fluffy flurries falling over the brittle brown leaves on the trees. I’m steady on my feet and steady in my heart. I remember so much about the weather outside of me: circumstances I cannot control, the moods and idiosyncrasies of […]
Refreshing Your Table Manners
Today I thought about table manners. It’s so fun to refresh oneself on rules of etiquette in order to bless and honor your host and those around the table. My two favorite (and often overlooked) rules include sitting down only after your host and never putting anything on the table; your purse, coat, scarf, etc. […]
A Great Question for Your Holiday Gathering
Last night at a wedding reception, I tested out my new favorite question to ask people at any gathering. It’s this: What question do you like people to ask you? Around our table, I learned wonderful things I would have never thought to ask these people in my life I thought I knew well. Someone […]
Autumn Cookies
During our snow day, my oldest daughter and I attempt Autumn Cookies. She loves botany, so after she instructed me on proper leaf venation patterns, we set out on our artistic endeavor. We baked the cookies using leaf cookie cutters we found at Wegmans. I used a basic sugar cookie recipe. Then we spread white […]
A Pinecone Lesson
My tightly wound pinecones–those closed cones open to no one–have opened beautifully. Once, on the cold and wet forest floor, these little pine cones kept everything inside a secret. Any seed they might offer the world, they held tight to the heart. But once inside my home, after I washed and scented them with cinnamon […]
Ancient Rhythms
Our dishwasher recently broke. That day felt like a disaster. I couldn’t imagine life without the dishwasher. And then I could. As we learned we’ll wait a few weeks until the new dishwasher arrives, I settled into the reality that I’d wash dishes by hand. And I thought of others in the world also washing […]
A Verb I’ve Never Used: Envenomate
Today I read the sentence, “She didn’t envenomate him.” I realize I’ve never used this verb that means “to inject with poison.” I think of broader uses. Did my biting words or bitter attitude envenomate the atmosphere? I love learning new verbs.
Taking the Day As It Comes
I’m learning to think differently about the day. I normally imagine every possible event that may come my way; I visualize everything–walking from the parking lot, meeting students for office hours, teaching classes, attending meetings, joining conference calls, making dinner. It’s just how my mind works. I also write things in my head as I […]
“Awesome Things We Did Not Expect”
I love that God does “awesome things we did not expect” (Isaiah 64:3). This unchanging God performs in unexpected ways. It’s so mysterious, wonderful, and joyful to think of God working in ways we cannot expect. When I receive a gift or good news I wasn’t expecting, it’s so beautiful and fun. It turns the […]
Prep Work
Sometime over the weekend, usually on Sunday, we’ve been in a routine of making pasta salad for school lunches for the week and popping popcorn for lunchbox snacks. It feels so good–so orderly and prepared–to open a refrigerator full of prepped lunches or see the neat pile of bagged popcorn ready for the lunchbox. I […]