If, fifteen months ago my fairy godmother would have appeared in a swirl of glitter and twinkle lights and announced to me that this March I would find myself in Bluefield, West Virginia in the company of a beautiful group of writers and creators at Hopewords Conference, I could not have been more incredulous, amazed, […]
The Long Sentence
“Slowing down, for a contemporary reader, is a counter-cultural act.” “Sentence means literally a way of thinking (Latin: sentential) comes from the Latin sentire, to feel” “The non-skimmable sentence with an undertow that carries us backward to reconsider almost as strongly as it moves us forward to learn more is a sentence which insists that, […]
Play is the Glitter of Life
“To play is to live in grace.” Marilyn McEntyre writes these words in the tenth chapter of her book Caring For Words in a Culture of Lies. A tenth chapter aptly titled ‘Play’. Before I read this line, I’ve uncapped my orange highlighter and with broad strokes colored every letter and punctuation mark in this prior […]
In Need of Rescue
I navigate my shopping cart to a halt beside the tortilla chips. Today I’m choosy and I specifically search for On The Border brand. The Fiesta Dippin’ chips style is in easy grasp.I snag two bags, tumbling them among other assorted groceries in my cart. I’d really prefer to have the Cafe style as well. They hover two shelves above my head and are […]
The King Always Returns
In these days of shadow and light, evening dusk, sunshine bright, in these days where glad tidings collide with messiness and brokenness inside, in these days of reflection and deflection, noticing the intersection of past, present, and future pondered, in these days of gazing at gathering dust along the top tier of the Roman shade, […]
Because Love Works That Way
We wend our way through the show room.Keys shine, ivory gloss and polished ebony.They urge fingertips to sweep across them. The ambience of the room casts a spell, makes believe that all one would need to do is begin to play with a flourish and concert pianist music would flow forth. But I know better. […]
Light Always Pierces Darkness
Palpitating. Pounding. Penetrating.Creeping. Crawling. Corrupting.Foreboding.Disturbed. Dismayed. Discombobulated.Anxious. Agitated. Apprehensive.Troubled. Snaking around and under and through.Shrouding everything it encounters.Sinister limbs lurch and reach.Fear pounds in brave chestsAnd courage claws surfaceward.Breath breaks in scant bursts. It wears oppressive doom as an accessory.A snarl, menace, sneer as make-up.Shadows as eyeshadow to overshadow.Spines tremble. We cringe. Hearts falter.Souls shudder and […]
We Are Messengers
Our in-the-flesh experience begins suddenly. The world opens to us bright and cold and startling. We wail and blink, stunned by the suddenness, the shifting from warmth and comfort of a watery womb to an overstimulating awareness and newness. Lungs gasp air and breath pumps in, out, in, out. Legs and arms thrash and pump […]
Breathing Life
What breathes life into you? What offers an exhale of refreshing? Who do you breathe easier around? Here’s one of mine: Spring of 2022 brought the formation of a Book Club Society into my life. It’s been one of my very favorite parts of this year. Life-giving + breathing joy in + delight = a […]
Casting Your Character
“It’s ready!” the sweet barista sets the mug in front of me. Whip settles on the foam and caramel drizzle runs ribbons disappearing into the cinnamon latte depths. I express my gratitude, smile, reach toward the warm mug. I’m ready too. I lean in, toward the latte, toward conversation. Flickers from the gas fireplace combine with Christmas […]
The Three-Fold Gift of Waiting
The calendar days do have to creep. Agonizingly.They tick along as if they have all day, meandering, ambling, lethargic at best.I press my nose against windowglass, focus on the snowflakes falling in flutters. This was the part of anticipation I didn’t appreciate. It meant awaiting, abiding, attending.As a child, the culmination of Christmas couldn’t come quickly enough. […]
Makers Are Chance Takers
Scooping the dough from the bowl, my hands shape it into a ball, smoothing, rounding, rolling. Flour dust hovers as I sift it across the silicone pastry mat. I pat. Flatten the ball into a disc, reach for my french rolling pin. The rolling pin, made by artisans in India, sold by Mercy House, with […]
Bits and Pieces to Delight In {October}
“Please Aslan,” said Lucy “What do you call soon?”“I call all times soon,” said Aslan.” ~ C.S. Lewis, Voyage of the Dawn Treader “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, […]
Wherein I Muse About True Devotion
True devotion in relationships is extraordinary. Not of the nature which wants to cover up faults or uphold evil or fan the flames of falsity. Rather, that which is true and beautiful and genuine. Heart-sharing vulnerability. Coming with open hands, carrying not agenda. I read a story once about a little girl who was her […]
Remain Galadriel
“Ding!” the bell warned the approach of the end of the line. Tapping out a few more letters, she briskly sent the carriage skating back to begin again. The ivory keys glided under her fingers as her thoughts flew furiously. Her eyes scanned the page, running over the questions she’d typed. Who are we when […]
Bits and Pieces to Delight In {September}
“Being scared isn’t really that much different than being scarred.” I read it on Ann Voskamp’s blog. It’s true. I nod my head. Read further.Tears prick my eyelids and squeeze at the corners. Scared and scarred both carry trauma and pain. Truth is, it doesn’t even have to be big or deeper traumas. It shows […]
The Illusion
The illusion bobs and bounces in a swirl of watercolor hues. Amidst teenage angst and insecurities and awkwardness, I believe middle-aged people have it all figured out. Life looks simple and easy. Effortless. Successful. Settled. Delightful. I’m not sure why this illusion beckoned me. Seemed believable. Goodness. I’d seen my mother burst into tears when […]
