All the Way Home
“All the way home, Jill; all the way, all the way home!” I first heard these words from Jill Briscoe, one of my spiritual heroes, six years ago when a friend and I were invited to Wisconsin to attend an event where Jill would be teaching. (I wrote about it here.) A modern-day apostle, Jill had been an inspiration to me for decades. Jill's...
Observations on my Hawaiian Adventure
We recently returned from a once-in-a-lifetime vacation in Hawaii. The islands are beautiful. The cities and communities we visited were clean and the people are welcoming and kind. I reflected on our trip in an essay for The Radiant Institute, a cohort offered at our home church. The assignment was to share a cross-cultural experience. I'm...
Reflections: Springtime on a Creek Bank
The moment I opened my car door, I could hear the creek — a gurgling rush of water, spilling over rocks and roots. The sun-lit flash I had spotted as I pulled into the driveway cut through the center of our new homestead, laying down tracks to a destination unknown, yet pre-determined. The bubbling welcome of that narrow flow of water on an...
The Face of the Other Changes Everything
I took this photo of dry leaves two years ago on the last day of January and filed it on my laptop with the title "no snow". Where I live, a widespread blizzard that swept across Indiana and Michigan made up for past snow-free seasons. We got at least a foot of snow over the first three days of February 2022, and we still have plenty on the...
Expectations: Let It Be With Me
I’m a slow-buildup-to-Christmas kind of girl. One decoration at a time. And the tree shows up when I feel ready. No grand expectations here. “You do you” is my mantra when it comes to the holidays. While some are mixing twinkle lights with pumpkins, I’m protecting Thanksgiving’s autonomy like my life depended on it. Today, I broke out the...
Good, better, best. Never let it rest.
I love American and Celtic folk music. In another season of life, I taught myself to play an Irish whistle and a lap dulcimer. I never mastered either one, but I enjoyed making “music”. Because I played for an audience of one, good was good enough. Until it wasn’t and I laid the instruments aside. I wonder how many things we pick up and lay...
Quiet :: When Silence Means You’re Up To Something
Our homeschooling years were rarely quiet. With four boys whose ages spread across 10 years, moments of silence were usually cause for alarm. If they weren't sick or sleeping, the absence of noise in our home meant they were up to something. But occasionally, I would be surprised by a quiet that came from deep concentration. Whether it was a...
When Faiths Collide: Finding Myself in Ash Wednesday
I stood in line for the symbolic smudge of ashes on the first day of Lent, unprepared for what that touch to my forehead would to do my heart.
Lenten Logos :: Praying with Jesus
Easter is my favorite holiday for so many reasons. Spring weather, baskets of candy, soft bunnies, pretty new clothes, colored eggs. All of it beats snow, darkness, a chubby Santa and the potential for gift disappointment (it's a thing) hands-down. My grown-up reasons for loving Easter have as much to do with Lent as they do with the...
Sunrise, Sunset. Swiftly Fly the Years
In the weeks before my son's birthday, I rummaged through two boxes of photos that hadn't been pasted into albums. I selected the best ones from his baby and little boy years, adding photos from the awkward times, from basketball, piano lessons, graduation and, most recently, with his significant other. I had decided to send him some memories as a gift for his birthday.
