Spiritual Direction and Writing
I’m a words gal. I like to play with how they look on paper adjacent others, and how they roll off the tongue when read aloud. I like words that sound pretty and mean something. Words that evoke thought and feeling. And maybe that’s how Christmas saved me two Advent seasons ago when nothing meant… Continue reading Advent, Fence-Sitting, and Words
I still remember the details of my morning when five years ago yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled to legalize gay marriage across the country. My four-year old daughter was playing with blocks and mermaid toys. My infant son was cooing in his bouncy chair. I poured black coffee into a rainbow mug and posted a… Continue reading Pride
I wonder how you are doing today. I wonder what the pace of your heart feels like in your chest. I wonder if you are choosing to shower and get dressed, or if you are taking today (and yesterday, and perhaps tomorrow) to stay in your pajamas. I wonder, are you asking yourself “what is… Continue reading Bravery in the Time of Covid-19
Evangelical Christianity has a language. You might speak it yourself, or maybe you’ve at least heard it. But we tend to say things with a kind of “I’m in the club” jargon that helps us all know what we are talking about. This is lingo like “born again”, “once saved, always saved”, and “speaking in… Continue reading Fallen Away
Someday I might set my stopwatch to see how many minutes I go before telling myself a lie. I’m serious. If I’m honest, I might make it twenty minutes into the day at best. “I’m so tired that I might not make it through the day without falling asleep at the wheel. If I’m late… Continue reading Liar, Liar
I remember sitting in my second-grade class, my favorite elementary school teacher walking languidly between our desks on a warm, end of the school year day. It was a private, Lutheran school in mostly Hispanic town, but all the faces around me were white. In second grade, none of that registered. The thing that makes… Continue reading Flying Flags
Confession: I am the worst, WORST parent when it comes to keeping squeaky clean children. I think Josie washes her hair once a week. Maybe twice. And Carter…well he’s perpetual stinky feet because socks are annoying (I have to admit I feel him there) and now that summer is upon us, I don’t quite know… Continue reading
I should be paying bills. Or doing dishes. Or calling the church about my volunteer schedule. But I’m not, because opportunities to spill my brain’s overload into actual words on paper are happening…well let’s face it- it’s NOT happening right now. I was going to say like 5% of the time and that’s just a… Continue reading Middle of the Pack
Life seems to be built around a giant question of “what if?”. Framed in certain ways it can be a question that prompts discontent. “What if I made more money? What if I published a book and became famous? What if I lost 20 pounds?” But sometimes the “what if” is right in front of… Continue reading Beauty For Ashes
I have two, passionate, all-or-nothing children. There is no middle ground for them…in anything! They are having fun, or they are miserable. They love rosemary ham, or the LOATH rosemary ham. Paw Patrol is the best show ever or it is a “dumb baby show”. And when it comes to each other, they are either… Continue reading At the End of the Day
