Part of the delight of spending time with my oldest grandson is that he takes nothing for granted. Nothing. “Bam, why bubble pop?” “Because you stood on it.” “Why?” Well, good question. Why indeed, and our conversations have routinely run on in this vein of relentless curiosity. Now that he’s old enough to have moved…
Dear Readers, In my 60 years of life, I have lived in 11 places, including my college apartment and a couple of short-term apartments: one when I moved to another city, one when I got married, and one when we moved to a new state. I’ve been in my current house for 22 years. My…
Those of us who are people of faith tend to worship our place alongside God. Sure, we love Jesus, but in the suburbs we’d like our slice of the American dream too. We want our Bible studies alongside our Target splurges. It’s not wrong to appreciate beauty, to buy things, or want our homes to…
Even when life is good, during seasons when all seems right with the world, I sometimes still experience unnamed longings. They are deep, elusive feelings, as if there is something that I know I need but is not within reach. When I sit with them, I come to understand that these longings are not for…
“Say it again,” they urged me. I felt like an animal in a cage, surrounded by the watchful eyes of gleeful children who poked at its helpless form with a stick. My fellow college-aged camp counselors hailed mostly from Canada and the Northeastern United States. Much of the kitchen crew came from the United Kingdom….
When I was 15, I met God in a Vermont meadow. I was riding a horse bareback in the July sun, feeling his warm hide and coarse hair under my shorts-clad legs. I was in the middle of the meadow, which gradually sloped down into a glittering spring-fed lake. The meadows were high and uncut…
I’m a homebody. Or rather a “housebody.” My preferred place is indoors, especially at my own house. But what if, in God’s plan, he meant me for more? I love being in my kitchen when it’s filled with food, drink, and conversation. I love spending a quiet evening playing games or doing jigsaw puzzles beside…
Today I’m an astronaut. I need to shuttle beyond the orbit of my block. I launch east from my home planet: turning left, then right. I cycle through a few green lights, making sure to stop by the house with a train-shaped Little Free Library. Trains also travel to car-free universes. I discover a Golden…
Dear Reader, It was just three years ago that I started writing for a Christian meditation app called Abide. I hadn’t really thought about meditation too much prior to that. I didn’t have anything against it. I know that the Bible talks a lot about meditating on God’s Word and how important that is. But…
Today I stand at the counter Chopping an onion with my favorite knife An ordinary act hardly worth noting But today I note it I chop onion Add butter Pour wine And ease slowly into the luxury of stirring a meal For the people I love Savoring not the aroma of melding onions and wine…
There are few times in our lives when we can look back and declare, “At that moment, right there, I was broken, and it changed everything.” I remember such a moment, one that sent me on a journey I continue to navigate seventeen years later, one filled with death and sorrow, pain and loss, joy…
Whole is my word for this year, a picture of completeness, a world and body unbroken, fullness, goodness, health, and peace. I had no idea it would be put to the test before I was even ready for it. My husband Eric and I were knocked down for six weeks in late fall by COVID,…
“For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.” Ecclesiastes 5:20 ESV I am a Gen Xer. Our generation was specifically encouraged in our late teens and early twenties to be radical Christians; Jesus freaks if you will. I went to a Christian…
Standing in front of the little coffee cart, waiting for the first customers of the day, I start the morning recalibrating the professional grinder. When the weather is cold, the beans need a little more motivation to release their oils, and so a smaller grind. When it is warm, the beans expand and let go…