Searching for the Neighbor’s Missing Cat
The cat down the street has been missing for 5 days. I don’t know this neighbor or this cat, but I find myself super invested in the search ever since I saw the Cat Missing poster on my walk and followed the owner’s Facebook updates in our neighborhood Facebook group. When I walk today, I’ll […]
A Wonderful Week: Planning Your At-Home Writing Retreat
For the first time, I lived in my house alone for a week. Alone for a week! With Sarah serving on a missions trip in Jamaica and Ash and Kate visiting family and friends in North Carolina and Williamsburg, I stayed home to finish the latest book, Chosen for Christ: Stepping into the Life You’ve […]
Reconnections and Possibilities
Over the course of a few days, I’ve reconnected with a dear friend with whom I’ve been out of touch, deepened a friendship with a current friend, and met a new friend to arrange a morning get together for coffee. I love the possibilities. And I love waiting on God’s timing for friendship in the […]
Lessons from Walking My Neighbor’s Dog
I love walking Peanut for my neighbors. He looks like a peanut. He must be a poodle-terrier mix. What I love about walking Peanut is how he leads. I walk when I’m supposed to walk; I stop when I’m supposed to stop. He walks. He stops. He smells things. He goes to the bathroom. I […]
When You See Your Friend Flourishing: The Local Artist Launches New Website
Do you remember the Local Artist who delivered a memorial drawing of our cat, Jack, to help us all grieve the loss of him? She’s Jennifer Kelly! She’s the dear friend who “did the hoping for me” when I had lost hope for my writing. She’s the one who helped me “make myself that somebody.” […]
Little Treasures Just for You
I’ve been writing this week about how to experience life as God’s treasured possession. I happened to walk into a tiny little thrift store that’s just opened in our town, and I find all of these treasures–as if they were put there just for me. A new spring jacket from a store I love but […]
Living in Hope
What I love about March is that promise of spring. You can tell the world shifted; the sun feels brighter and warmer; the snow melts; everything sits in expectation for growth. But it’s still quite cold. It’s such a strange in-between state: What I perceive in the light doesn’t match the reality of the cold […]
A Peek Into My Children’s Ministry Life for March
Well, I did it. I agreed to serve as the Storyteller for the month of March for the children of our church. I dressed up like Abraham (ancient robe and a burgundy sash to match my glasses and lipstick–hey, I had to have some fashion sense) and told the story of Abraham parting ways with […]
All the Restful Things
I lately cultivate a love of restful things. It feels like a lost art form in our increasingly full life. I gather books—A Wrinkle in Time and Redeeming Love—and make space to read in a cozy place. I attempt to nap. I take a bath. I pet the cats. I make tea. It feels restorative […]
A Quiet Heart
I return to the marvelous practice of writing down every single thing troubling my heart. In the prayer journal, I write down the specific request with space to record when and how God answers. In the evening or the next morning, I fill in all the divine activity I observe. I move through the day, […]