Finding Joy on the Journey in Faith, Family, and all Things in Between.
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...]
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...]
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...]
I was five when they told her I might die. My delicate spine bruised like a blooming flower in yellows and violets and then the dull brown of dying blood. It was this blood that was no good. The very thing we had in common. I lay in sterile pallor on the thin bed, crinkling under the sheet with the plastic covering, ready to be stripped down and reused again, should the bed be vacated by … [Read more...]
Five Minutes on: Bare We loved in that bare shouldered way of a man and woman. Of shared breath and space and warmth. I was a girl, really. Only nineteen, not even old enough to drink champagne on our honeymoon. He was twenty, broad-shouldered and ready to carry me into our life. The weight of it all still light as he carried me across the threshold and we laughed and tried to maneuver … [Read more...]
Every week I write with a gang of courageous storytellers who gather time and again to share lives, and burdens, and blessings, and the everyday ordinary that pulses just beneath each word prompt. And every week it's different. But we all share one thing in common. We are all there to write, from the novice hobby blogger to the aspiring author to the published. We know words mean … [Read more...]
Day 26: My Testimony: Which Bubble Do I Fill? I felt the red flush of embarrassment rise up my neck and fill my face with splotchy crimson blots. "Not a porch, stupid. A Porsche! Don't you know anything?" She cocked her head to one side, her strawberry blonde hair falling to the side as she wrinkled her freckled nose in distaste. I still had no idea what she was talking about. She had said … [Read more...]
"But doubt is wily and cunning and never, as it is sometimes said to be, loud or defiant. It is unassuming and sly, not bold or assertive - and the more unassuming, the more dangerous." — Søren Kierkegaard She's the strongest woman I know. I tell her this. She is strong and brave. I don't know if she believes me. She bats away compliments with the unsure smile formed by her mother's … [Read more...]
I fingered the insert in the church bulletin with disdain. Seriously? A teddy bear tea party? I was 20 years old! Why was women's ministry so antiquated? The men's ministry was off to shoot clay pigeons for their gathering and we had to scrounge up teddy bears and doilies and nibble on soggy triangles of cucumber and miracle whip smooshed into crustless Wonderbread? I envisioned the … [Read more...]
I knew I would eventually get around to finishing my 31 days. I didn't know where this series would lead when I started it and I'm still not entirely sure but I know that during this season of depression, church has been on my mind a lot. These are some of those ramblings. Day 24 She sits at the corner booth, tucked away with a bowl of soup. The steam rises past her face and she concentrates … [Read more...]
There is something to be said about writing in and through. So many times we can't write out the words in the midst of our own pain, our own trials, and we are so immersed in our story that it's hard to get perspective enough to share it. And I get that. Sometimes we do need time to heal, to process, to let it breathe. But there is something about that perspective that is powerful which … [Read more...]
My mother in law builds bridges in her kitchen, and across the dining table. She extends grace with open doors and a hot oven. We gather at her house after our expedition. We are busy making new traditions. Our Christmas trees were chosen by scurrying children, bundled up for trekking in the forest, giddy with the pine and fresh air and company of their cousins and grandparents, and aunts and … [Read more...]
Day 19, 20, 21, 22 and my first Allume take-away recap. How's that for multi-tasking? First of all I want to offer my humble apologies for it being day 30 and me barely eking out day 19. I knew this would be a stretch for me but I hadn't realized exactly how much. However, I have discovered some things as I've waded through this topic all month. God shows up, even though I don't always … [Read more...]
Day 17 You may notice a theme in the 31 days. Grace. Is there really any other way to do church? Is there any other road by which we can travel together, unified and loving? I used to think that grace and love where simply part of the equation and not the entire answer but I'm realizing I had it all wrong. I'm realizing that a lot in the past month. The sum of all the other things must … [Read more...]
I've been sitting on this post for a few days now. Formulating in my head and heart what I wanted to say and how I would say it. I've watched the twitter banter and bloggy love being passed out around online and I've even jumped in with a few hashtags and virtual fist bumps. And I've reflected on my weekend at The Influence Conference. I was blessed to attend at the last-minute through a … [Read more...]
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