The Best Definition of Freedom: 4 Things
I’m reading Ruth Haley Barton’s Longing for More: A Woman’s Path to Spiritual Transformation in Christ. She writes in the introduction that “the whole spiritual journey could be characterized as a journey into freedom.” I’ve got my pen poised above the book as the early morning sun shines on me. I’m ready for this. I […]
When a Tree Goes Through Your House
First of all, it wasn’t my house. It was my neighbor’s house: A crowd of us gather after the storm to check in, care for, and –oddly–crack jokes to lighten the mood. My daughters climb up to the attic and touch the tree. It seems amazing: a tree shot straight through the house. Nobody was […]
When the Problem Is You
Today I read in the book of Isaiah the command to do away with the pointing finger and the malicious talk. I’ve been thinking so much about my own pointing finger this week. I like to blame others for the way I feel. I often consider how I’m being let down. This is an absolutely […]
Just Enough
Each new morning, the strawberry patch offers up a bowl full of ripe strawberries. It’s just enough for smoothies, parfaits, a cobbler, or a pie. Last year, we had to thin out the patch. We had so many berries that they rotted on the ground like Israelite manna stored up. This year, I’m thankful for […]
The Greatest Ending Ever: How We Say Goodbye to Graduating 5th Graders
Every student, staff, and teacher lines the school hallways and extends their hands. They form a long and beautiful tunnel. The 5th graders–who have graduated and will leave elementary school and journey on to Middle School–walk through the tunnel of cheers and tears. It’s the school’s goodbye. The 5th graders cry and hug. They are […]
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 […]