Some New Foods to Try
As I try to eat more of a plant-based diet (so good to ease inflammation, arthritis, and migraines!), I suspiciously try a new no tuna “tuna fish” recipe that ends up tasting delicious! Instead of tuna, you use a can of chickpeas. It tasted great with lettuce and tomato on a hearty piece of bread. […]
Favorite Sounds: A Dinner Conversation Question
Several years ago, we talked at dinner about our favorite sounds. Think about it: the sound of a knife spreading butter on toast or the definitive click of the seat belt. What about wind in the trees on a quiet evening or the crunch of fall leaves underfoot? Of course you might mention the flowing […]
First Day of Summer
I’m such a goal-oriented person, but my teens do not appreciate my goal-setting for them every summer. When they were little, I could set elaborate schedules and record our accomplishments, but now, it doesn’t work the same way. I still, however, make broad categories of what this summer might entail for us all. We talk […]
Curl and Unfurl
A New Day. A New Season.
Today my oldest daughter graduates from high school. I kept telling myself that it wouldn’t be overwhelming or too emotional, but it is. It’s a new day. A new season. She’s grown up, and so am I.
When the Enemy Is Also You
Sometimes when we search our hearts, it’s hard to admit the ugliest sins of pride, superiority, judgement, hatred, or all those things we don’t want to see in ourselves. The shame is so great that we do things like make excuses, ignore, or hide. Shame feels like a disintegration of self and a tormenting sense […]
Some Beauty and Some Mystery
An update: The garden baskets grow–almost too well on one side. The blackberries look so healthy. (We’re using “scare tape” — a shimmery and reflective strip of tape that you hang near your berries to scare birds away. The tape looks like a snake or predator, and they supposedly flee. I’ll keep you posted if […]
When It’s Time
I’ve been listening and praying and searching my own heart about racial injustice in our nation. Today, I felt hope. I felt real hope! But I still feel discouraged and unsure about what I can do in my town, in my position, and with my skills and resources. My prayer is that God will lead […]
When You Think You’ve Planted a Cherry Tomato Plant but It’s Actually a Ground Cherry. It’s Not the Same.
I thought I had picked up a cherry tomato plant, but it was actually a ground cherry. I happily planted my little plant but then noticed it didn’t seem like a normal cherry tomato plant. (As you can tell, I don’t know what I’m doing in my garden sometimes!) I’ve had to learn all about […]
Pure, Sincere Wisdom
Today I considered James 3:17 when I ask God for wisdom for how to respond to various circumstances whether within my own family or within my larger community. I remember how James warns us that “the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good […]