We Lived Easter Every Day
I’m enjoying my role as Keeper of Traditions in the family. At Easter, we have traditions that our family loves. Our favorite tradition is the crying out, “He is risen!” (and then we all cry back, “He is risen indeed!”) We love Easter; the ham, the special dinner rolls, the hidden Easter baskets with Easter […]
The Golden Egg
This morning our neighbors invite us to join them on an Easter Egg hunt in the forest. As I make my way past thorns, briars, fallen logs, and piles of leaves (this is the forest!), I find myself so full of delight. Then, I realize I’m in charge of hiding the Golden Egg. I can […]
With Every Burial, a Resurrection
Today, I recall Annie Dillard’s quote that I wrote about this time last year. She profoundly asks this about Jesus: “Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it?” I wondered last year what my life might be […]
In the Shriveled, Dry Nothing of It
Do you remember the Glorious Homemade Trellis my husband made for me for Mother’s Day last year? I love this trellis! I loved that we picked out peachy-pink colored climbing rose bushes that I just know will one day cover the whole side of the house. We pruned, and three months later, we had beautiful […]
Winning Favor
Today I remember that I’m not fighting to win God’s favor. I already have it in full. I’m approved of, well-liked, and blessed because I’ve received the righteousness of Christ. God’s attitude towards me is one of glorious favor. In Psalm 90:17, the writer asks, “May the favor of the Lord rest on us; establish […]
Be the Spoon
I read an illustration by Margaret Silf this morning about a beautiful potluck dinner she attended once. Imagine one particularly beautiful and delicious rice salad in a lovely crystal bowl that sits untouched by guests. While guests devour every other food item, nobody goes near the most delicious rice salad. At the end of the […]
Ride the Wind
Outside my classroom, it snows pollen. I watch as furry puffs of seeds, buds, and dreaded pollen mingle and dance in the April wind. It’s warm and blustery. As I watch, I realize that this wind disseminates all the seeds. It enables what couldn’t otherwise happen. The design of it all makes me wonder. Wind […]
Measured in Cookies
When you only make sugar cookies twice a year (Christmas and Easter), you can measure your growth by them. This year, my daughters stay by my side. They roll out the dough. They cut the cookies themselves. They mix the frosting, color it, and put it in little artist paint trays. They want to paint […]
2 Statements by Children: Tired of Being Amazed and Tired of Excess
If you ask a child about what it means to be amazed lately, you’re bound to learn all about the cultural value of being amazed. Everything’s about amazing them with technology, incredible stories, and non-stop feeds full of jaw-dropping photos and videos. It has to be amazing to rise to the top, to keep their attention, […]
How You Know It’s a Good Thing
I’m teaching students how to review something. It seems simple, right? It seems obvious, natural, and everyday to evaluate something. Films, restaurants, art, clothing, technology. . . It’s harder than we thought. Determining whether or not an activity, a product, an experience, or a work of art is “good” or “bad” taps deeply inside of […]