3 Kinds of Local
I find myself face-painting children this morning. Our elementary school has an indoor field day due to rain, and I’m on duty with paints and brushes. I’m enjoying every mustache, rainbow, flower, and cupcake on each precious face. Some of the fifth graders I’ve watched grow up from kindergarten. I rest my brush and ponder […]
Mom, Have You Blogged About the Coconut Yet?
We’re eating pizza at a local restaurant, and the very special dessert is coconut bread pudding–cooked and served in a coconut. You know my problem with coconut: I love it! After you eat the bread pudding, you can eat the baked coconut meat that still lines the shell. Then, you can take the shell home […]
I Never Thought
I never thought that harvesting would be part of my day. But harvest I do. I love embracing what I never imagined I would ever have. I love seeing the fruit of an unconventional life that didn’t go exactly according to my plan. And now, we feast on fruit.
When the Deep Thing Escapes
I read in C.S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces a little statement: “Child, to say the very thing you really mean, the whole of it, nothing more or less or other than what you really mean; that’s the whole art and joy of words.” One day, you’ll say the thing you really mean. That thing deep […]
You Won’t Believe What She Did
One of my neighbors absolutely amazes me. In her mid-50’s, she decides to follow her dreams to start a brand new career. She asks my husband and me to pray about ways she can earn a living from her creativity. She’s brave. She’s inspiring. She’s always, always imagining new and wonderful things for her life. Whether […]
Ignoring Your Most Basic Instinct
You would think I would just drink water all day long, but I don’t. I learn today that a large percentage of the population has a reduced thirst sensation (meaning they don’t feel thirsty even when they actually are). We need water so very badly, and yet we don’t drink it. I used to often […]
How It Hits You
I arrive to the woods at just the right time of morning for the sunlight. The leaves pose for prayer. I love this walk to school because of how the light illuminates everything. I see average things in new ways–the shadows, the sun’s rays, the greens, the yellowish undersides–because of timing. Just five minutes later, the magic […]
On This Bench
My husband drives by an apartment I’ve never seen before and points it out for me to see. “What am I supposed to be seeing?” I mumble back. I look at everything and see nothing important. Then, just as I turn away, I see on one porch a beautiful garden bench. I look again. It’s […]
Whom Can I Love?
This morning in church, I realize I sometimes spend too much time wondering who loves me instead of loving others. The very moment I take my eyes off of myself and look around to see who needs attention, I’m set free. ______________________________Whom can you love?
What Oprah’s Harvard Commencement Speech Taught Me
Yesterday, I read CNN’s article on Oprah’s speech at Harvard University’s 362nd commencement ceremony. I learned that in all of Oprah’s interviews with famous people from all over the world–presidents, celebrities, businessmen, even criminals–she discovered they all shared one thing in common: they needed validation. After interviewing both the famous and the unknown, Oprah reflects, […]