Finding Joy on the Journey in Faith, Family, and all Things in Between.
So you want to be a writer? Or you say you already are. Maybe you're waiting for someone to give you that title and the thought of calling yourself a writer seems too grand a statement for the scribblings you do when kids are tucked in bed or between classes at school or after a long days work. Maybe you feel the story in you gliding across the blank screen, but you don't know if it's a … [Read more...]
I fear the tipping point when dreams placed within me become less about Him and more about me. Because I've seen it happen. I know it's ugly. I fear that the very makeup and fibers of my being are wrung tight and prone to catapult and tip lopsided and I sway under the searching of my heart. I want it clean but know the pain of having it scoured by Him. I fear the times when I shrink back from … [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...]
We drove the windy road to his grandmas house. And I festered. My soul black and ugly, scarred by bitterness and resentment. My baby boy, only 4 months old, strapped snugly into his new car seat. One of the only new things we had received at his birth. We were young and although we had planned and prayed for this baby, we hadn't had money to purchase new things. Friends blessed us with hand me … [Read more...]
It's Friday, and I've thought a lot about the community over at Lisa Jo's this week. I missed last Friday, just had no energy to write and I really missed y'all. So this week I was thinking what this community means to me and lo and behold the word prompt was join. So here you go, a tribute to the Five Minute Community over at The Gypsy Mama. If you haven't joined, now is the time. Five … [Read more...]
Jen says that bookstores remind her of hope. And I get that. Because the potential is bound within those covers, sewn into each page, the hope of learning new things, being changed by the words as they flow into our lives, sparking imagination and wisdom. We all enter in awe, almost reverent, each of us moving into different sections of the store. We browse the stacks slowly, moving … [Read more...]
We gather pretty paper and stickers. I have actually printed out pictures from my computer, something I rarely do. And we sit to write. To our children. Nehemiah proudly calls him, "my friend Jonathan," and talks about Africa as if it were a place we might go visit this afternoon, like the park or a friend's house. He has no concept of oceans and continents and worlds apart and … [Read more...]
I didn't write on mother's day. I didn't write anything about my mom. I didn't write about all the things I love about her or the many ways she's blessed me. I didn't tell her that she is the most faithful woman I know. She had to be, to put up with us kids and my dad. I didn't tell her that the prayers she prayed for me during the years when I was lost and angry and wandering were … [Read more...]
It's that time of the week again, when we let our words fly and take shape for the fun of it. 1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking 2. Link back to The Gypsy Mama and invite others to join in. 3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes … [Read more...]
In the interest of being "real," I must say that my meetup was not what I expected. I thought my follow-up post would be different than this. But this is real, and so here goes. I wish I could say that it was life changing and I forged ahead with new friendships that would carry on and someday we would look back at that exact moment in time when we first clicked the meetup link and know … [Read more...]
There are some things I'm pretty terrible at, like parallel parking. Lets just say, I'll keep circling the block for another space, lest I take someones bumper off. Anything related to hand eye coordination, pretty much not my thing. Or any coordination for that matter. I am spatially challenged. Finding the right sized Tupperware for leftovers always leads to enchiladas spilling over the … [Read more...]
On Fridays we write with gusto, unselfconscious and flat out. You know the drill. 1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking 2. Link back here and invite others to join in. 3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes on: Community I am tentative, … [Read more...]
On Fridays we write with gusto, unselfconscious and flat out. You know the drill. 1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking 2. Link back here and invite others to join in. 3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes on: :: Together… She … [Read more...]
There are so many things standing in the way of developing a community. Here are some excuses in no particular order. 1. I am an introvert, people are draining to me after long periods. 2. I homeschool so my days are filled with lesson plans, constant questions, diaper changes, snack times, and exhaustion. Basically the definition of long periods. 3. My house is messy … [Read more...]
To my mother in law on her birthday, When I think of you, I always think of your cooking. Yes, I am the girl who loves to eat. I think of the meals you have prepared over the 17 years I have known and been a part of your family. It's not just because you went to culinary school, or because you cook for a living, but also because so many of our family memories involve meals at your … [Read more...]
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