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...]
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...]
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...]
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 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...]
So I wrote the post. The hard one. The one that had sat in my soul for years but never put into words. But this was my chance. Somehow it felt easier to post it on a friend's blog. God and suffering. She had asked me to contribute a post. She loved the way I wrote about the pain and the beauty. I said yes. I would be honored. And then I thought of the suffering in my life. I paused over … [Read more...]
She curls her body into mine, as tightly pressed as she can get. She is all flannel nighty and honey shampoo and girl. And my words get softer as the story grows. I can never tell her stories and expect sleep. Once there were words spoken over her and her eyelids would flutter and weigh with slumber closing softly to the world but now she waits for each sentence and grasps holds, fighting back … [Read more...]
Sometimes it's uncomfortable to know they have read the very inner workings of your madness, your depravity, your grief. Sometimes your joy isn't yours alone but is shared with those who you've never even seen. And you wonder at it all. Where a click of a mouse can mean your life spread open. You want this, you've asked for it. Community, and being known, real and whole and true. And you wonder … [Read more...]
I started this blog as a ministry to others. To share my stories and develop community here. I wanted to have a place to share what God was doing in my life. I wanted this to be a place where I was fearless. Where I could push past platitudes and be real and transparent. I had no idea this blog would minister to me more than to others. Last year at my blogging début, I chose one word … [Read more...]
The song is set to repeat. We do it 7 times, complete with hand motions for Age of Imperialism, Queen Victoria, Empress of India 1877, 1948, assassination, passive resistance, India's independence, Mohandas Gandhi . It takes our fingers and bodies to make the memories etch into our muscles, our minds. And it works. I remember obscure dates and facts about Columbus, Westward Expansion, the split … [Read more...]
Whatever our story, we long for a connection. But some of us have learned to hide our story deep, to bury it with false smiles or walls built thick with self-reliance and skill and instagrams of spotless floors and blue skies. Sometimes we skirt wide paths by those who come close like a skittish creature afraid of all touch. Some of us have learned that to connect means to be in … [Read more...]
You know the drill. We write for 5 minutes flat with no second guessing, backtracking, or overthinking. We write for the pleasure of the clacking keys and the release of our words. Then we link up at The Gypsy Mama and enjoy what others have shared. Join us. This weeks word is Empty. Ready Go. I began this year with a blank screen and a burning desire to fill the pages with my story. This … [Read more...]
Write for 5 minutes flat-no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking. Her coughing vibrates through the walls. I wake, wondering if she’s going to come in and climb into our bed, again. I am weary worn from all this sickness. We’ve been hit hard this season with fevered foreheads, runny noses, aching tummies. And even more than the bodies that are drained, my spirit is tired. This … [Read more...]
I'd prefer having a different word, if I could pick any on a whim. I would feel much more comfortable with give or praise or heck, while we're at it blessed. But those don't resonate with me the same way. So I know that although those are things God might be speaking into others hearts for 2012, that's not what he's telling me. Stripped. It keeps coming back. Splayed open, bare, released from … [Read more...]
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