Teaching Interludes to Students (and Myself)
Today I teach on the “interlude.” I’ll never forget the day my agent first told me the pace of my narrative was all wrong in one chapter. “You just need to master tension and provide an interlude right here,” he said. Tension? Interludes? I had no idea what he meant. So he explained, and this […]
Feeding or Cooking?
My friend made me laugh the other day when she gave advice for when my husband travels. She reminded me that some nights, you just feed people. Other nights, you are cooking a meal. There’s a difference. That’s how her own mother survived when her husband traveled. Sometimes, feed. Other times, cook. She tells […]
The Bible Verses God Used to Change You
Tomorrow, I’m teaching a Bible study on loving God’s word and what would happen if you actually expected God to use the Bible to change you. I immediately think of the Bible verses God used at critical points in my life including Psalm 30, Deuteronomy 31:6, Psalm 16, Galatians 2:20, and 2 Corinthians 5. I […]
Gold and Dust
This morning I read a quote from Parker Palmer that goes like this: “We need a coat with two pockets. In one pocket there is dust, and in the other pocket there is gold. We need a coat with two pockets to remind us who we are.” The quote resonates with me because I remember […]
This Moment
On this day, near 4:00 PM in my backyard, the clouds and light and trees and blue sky came together like this. I stood and enjoyed this moment. Nothing fundamentally changes in this after school schedule of snack and homework and chores and play dates, but if I look, the day offers a brand new miracle […]
“Anything looked at closely becomes wonderful.” A.R. Ammons
I’m reading my favorite poet, A.R. Ammons, and I find this quote on close observation: “Anything looked at closely becomes wonderful.” It’s so simple and so precious. When I observe closely, I move into curiosity, wonder, and then worship of a God who designed this incredible thing I cannot begin to understand. It’s late afternoon, […]
Another Great Parenting Question
My students turned in the most beautiful and complex “Where I’m From” poems as a prewriting assignment for their Signature Stories. The “Where I’m From” poem, first popularized by George Ella Lyon, follows a specific template you can find at the bottom of this post. In one of the lines, students write down something they were […]
An Artist’s Limits
For so long, I stomped around the boundaries of my ordinary life and repeated Psalm 16: “The boundary lines for me have fallen in pleasant places.” But I didn’t believe it. I wanted to believe that the limits around me–those boundary lines of all things physical, financial, relational, emotional–were beautiful and not boring, marvelous and […]
Living Legato
My daughters teach me what legato means today as they play piano. It’s smooth, connected playing as opposed to staccato which is short and disconnected. Translated, legato means “bound or tied together” and “staccato” means detached. I love thinking of living legato where everything feels smooth and connected. I want everything to flow together because […]
If He Were You
I’m struck by Dallas Willard’s quote about discipleship. He writes, “Discipleship is the process of becoming who Jesus would be if He were you.” If He were you. Instead of thinking about me becoming a different person–“more like Christ”–as I’ve always been taught, it’s actually about allowing Jesus to operate within my God-given personality and […]