Build Your Life Around It
I’m reading Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet, and I love his advice about writing. He writes this: “Ask yourself in the stillest hour of your night: must I write? Delve into yourself for a deep answer. And if this should be affirmative, if you may meet this earnest question with a strong and […]
On This Terrible Morning, We Are Grieving With You
All night, I woke up imagining the shooting in that kindergarten classroom. I woke up imagining the parents hearing the news at the firehouse that they wouldn’t be reunited with their precious children. This is a terrible morning. We are grieving with you. This is a terrible morning, and evil is real. One day, it won’t […]
“Your Path is Following You”
I’m reading an advice column from E. Jean, and a reader asks her, “How can I find my passion?” E. Jean responds, “Here’s the way: Run down as many paths–straight, winding, high, wide, narrow–as you can. Get going, my girl! Run! Fly! Try them all! Take them all! One day, you’ll look down and see […]
Fret and Fret
This morning, my friend shows me Psalm 37 and reminds me: “Do not fret.” I think about the word. Fretting includes a threefold experience of worry, annoyance, and discontentment about something. Another use of the verb includes the expression fret away, as in to corrode, gnaw at, or wear down. My fretting frets away my […]
The One You Run to Greet
This week, I watch as friends find each other before school. One little girl claps her hands, jumps up and down, and runs to greet her friend. She’s waving her hands and calling out the name of her friend. It’s a lovely greeting. Who wouldn’t want to start the day with at least one person […]
Always a Portal
The Local Artist (the one who does the hoping for me) and I stand under a darkening sky this afternoon. We notice a pinhole of blue sky that looks like a portal. There’s even a little lamppost beneath it to remind me of Narnia. “Take a picture with your phone!” I say (and she does […]
I Always Forget
It only takes a few thoughts to fall into a pit of delusional thinking. It happens so quickly: Suddenly, we feel like everything depends on our ability to think the right thoughts, do the right things, and be the right kind of people. But it’s only God in us. I always forget this. I always […]
3 Gifts That Change Everything
This morning in church, I begin to think about what a great gift it would be if we extended the following attitudes towards the people in our lives. I begin to imagine what would happen if we: 1. Stop punishing people for ways they have failed us. I wonder how many marriages, family relationships, and […]
Less Is More (In Sprinkles and in Life)
It’s time for Christmas Cookies, and the youngest goes wild with the sprinkles. “Less is more! Less is more!” I cry out. It’s really true, too. Although it’s fun to layer more and more and more stuff on that delicious cookie, less is more. With less, you enjoy the light almond flavor of the frosting […]
Ready to Drip Diamonds
We wake up to early morning icy rain. The Winterberry Bush and Weeping Cherry look adorned with dangles of diamonds and crystals. All that bleak autumn dreariness was worth it. The stripping down, the emptiness, the stark reality of it become the canvas for a glorious display. It’s all fine-cut crystal now. The empty season […]