Finding Joy on the Journey in Faith, Family, and all Things in Between.
I knew I was a writer in high school because I couldn't go anywhere without a pocket-sized spiral notebook and a Bic pen with the chewed up cap. I never knew when words would seize me and I would frantically scribble them out for fear that in a moment they would be lost forever. But there is a difference between believing you are a writer and admitting it to anyone else. Those words carry … [Read more...]
I hope to God in 10 years I disagree with some of my blog. Anyone who knows me, knows that I don't love being wrong. So why would I want to be wrong now? Simple. If in 10 years I agree with everything I've said at 34 years of age, that will mean I've learned nothing, grown little, and have closed my mind and heart to being pliable. If I had a blog in my twenties, and thank God I didn't because … [Read more...]
My kids ran everywhere. Racing the shoreline and dipping their toes in the shallow pools that collected when the tide went out. Sun, hot and foreign to the Oregon coast danced on my bare shoulders. Our coast is a fickle mistress, quick to turn frigid in wind and wave. So when she beckoned at 80 degrees with full sun I scoured the internet for a rental house and last-minute deals. We packed for … [Read more...]
I might have been the one that hurt you. I might have turned away a bit as you were sharing your story. I may have broken eye contact and glanced beyond you when you were talking, making you feel small and invisible. You might have flushed red as I excused myself with an empty smile and moved on. I might have used you when I thought I'd stand a little taller on your shoulders and ignored you … [Read more...]
It's been quiet around here lately. My mind full but my heart empty. I write close and soul deep and sometimes my bone marrow dries, the stuff where words settle in and gush onto the page with each pump of my heart. So I went to Jumping Tandem with weariness in my bones. With the ache of the overtired. A bit frustrated at the grace I'm trying to walk around in and sometimes find myself … [Read more...]
My foot always landed with part of my heel over the line or my toe inching into the next box. I blame the fact that my feet outgrew my body and while I jumped and landed solidly, my sturdy little frame balancing in the boxes, I always seemed to be not quite in the right spot when my feet touched the ground. We'd dump the carton of chalk, always white never the rainbow hues, and scratch out our … [Read more...]
Writing lends itself to a process. There are stages and maturation of story that mimic the seasons of pregnancy and birth An idea implanting, as it germinates somewhere deep inside you. Hardly even aware of its presence and the role it will have in the rest of your life but it's forming and coming together. The rocky sway of sickness as it takes hold. The clutching of your sides and the tilt … [Read more...]
Dear Chihuahua of Fear, I remember when you used to hang around in my 5th grade classroom, sitting behind me as we recited the pledge of allegiance and I spread my thin palm across my already expanding chest. I remember when you whispered I didn't fit. Not just in the white cotton training bras but in life. I was old from youth, weathered already and tired. My almond-shaped eyes … [Read more...]
I went to a writers conference this past weekend and found my people. The people who love words and story. The people who feel creativity and imagination are divinely inspired. Within the diversified lineup of speakers, were a few I wouldn't have purposely chosen to see. For instance, William P. Young, who was a brilliant speaker and by all accounts a lovely, humble man, wrote The Shack, a book … [Read more...]
There is nothing more unique than the truth. And nothing more difficult to tell. I have truths in my life. Ones that are wound in story, as much a part of me as the links in my spine, and the skin that has grown and stretched over me all these years from infancy to womanhood. For many writers, this is where we measure our memories. We weigh the life we've lived, the thoughts we possess, … [Read more...]
I am so thrilled to introduce an e-book by my friend Denise Hughes! As one of the first writers I connected with when I started blogging, I've grown to love both her tremendous heart and her ability to take apart the craft of writing and put it back together in doable steps that inspire, encourage, and facilitate meaningful words on a page. She teaches writing for a living but she also lives to … [Read more...]
I knew upon starting my Purpose Project, I wouldn't have discretionary funds to spend on a whole new wardrobe. I knew when I got dressed, I wore the same things. Most of us do. We have outfits we feel confident and comfortable in and we tend to choose them on repeat. That becomes a problem when the clothes you constantly wear are yoga pants and oversized t-shirts. So here's some of … [Read more...]
This is Part 2 of Anna's story: Sold Some content is graphic and may not be suitable for children or those whose own experiences may be triggered by images of abuse and trauma. Discretion should be used. While this story is fictional, the details involved in stories like this are not. So this was what it felt like to have your insides torn apart, ripping your soul through your limbs, feeling … [Read more...]
I had another post planned for today but then life happened. And I realized this is a huge part of the writer's struggle. Life. Because just as the post forms in your mind, the thoughts coming together and the words harmonizing seamlessly, you are called upon to wipe your toddler's butt and swoosh, the perfectly aligned sentence just got flushed. And then the chore of pulling out your laptop … [Read more...]
For the rest of her life she will be my little girl. My only girl. In a week, she will be 8 years old. Today, she clung to me in a moment of high strung emotion uncommon for her. As her sleepy eyes welled with tears and she pushed her face into the curve just above my hip, into the fleshy part of my side, the spot where she curls herself into when we snuggle for story time or she bruises her … [Read more...]
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