“Never Trump” the Sovereignty of God
My gut reaction at the close of Indiana's historic primary election is to say "Never Trump". There are so many reasons I am repulsed by the idea of Donald J. Trump leading our nation, to list them here would fill a blog post. I am embarrassed and disheartened by the choice a majority of my fellow "conservative" Hoosiers have made. They've...
Age Is No Barrier To Inspiration and Passion
There's something about passionate people that's attractive and inspiring. I recently stumbled upon just such a combination in the friendship between two very different individuals who happen to share a passion for aviation Satya Sunkavalli, 27, caught my eye last spring during an event at the local campus of Ivy Tech University. It could have...
Time for a Little Dancing in the Foyer
It was a sweet picture. A tiny Mama, grey hair disheveled and shoulders draped with a fluffy child's blanket, twinkled as she shuffled her feet and waved her frail hands. Her smiling, middle-aged son lightly touched her dancing fingers and attempted to guide her toward the restaurant's front door, planning to safely tuck her into his car for...
The Waterway That Marks My Place in the World
A few years ago, I struck up a conversation with some nice folks at a booth at The Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin College in Grand Rapids. The booth offered information on The Huss Project and *culture is not optional. I was interested in the intentional community they were establishing in a former schoolhouse in Three Rivers,...
A Kindred Soul Can Span the Decades: Emma Smith
kindred : having the same belief, attitude, or feeling, associated by origin, nature, qualities, etc. Stumbling upon a "kindred spirit" is a special kind of surprise. It was that way for me recently when I discovered the British author Emma Smith. Emma's words, in my header above, showed up as I was doing research for a writing project. They...
Welcome Spring: In Celebration of Kathy
The last time I sat in the kitchen with my friend, Kathy, I could see her trays of seedlings lined up under grow lights in the next room. Inch-high heirloom tomatoes and peppers, melons, herbs and who-knows-what-else held the promise of sun-warmed produce in the months ahead. I held my friend's cold hands that day, rubbing her fingers between...
At the Halfway Mark, Some Thoughts on Lent
We will celebrate the Resurrection of Christ in less than three weeks. Halfway through Lent, I'm pondering what the Lenten season means to me, and revisiting an experience from two years ago that turned around my thinking on the tradition of "giving up" for Lent. Reflecting on that experience helped me see that maybe it's not what we give...
When What You’re Running TO Is a Bigger Deal Than What You’re Running FROM
He was smiling from ear to ear when I pulled in their driveway. Our dog Buddy's morning romp had taken him to the neighbor's house. Again. Buddy was pretty pleased with himself, but I was none too happy. I got him into the back seat of my car, apologized profusely to my (new) neighbor and drove back down the road to our house, scolding our...
When Life Is Aflame With Hard Things — Ashes
It's enough to make a woman give up traveling. A month ago, during a much-anticipated trip to Nashville, TN, to spend the weekend with our four sons, I wound up languishing for 24 hours in a hospital with cardiac issues. Fast-forward to last week's long-awaited trip to Chicago for the Moody Bible College Founders Week -- where I gracefully...
The Magic of Tidying Up and Making Plans
Winter has settled in the valley and, like many of you, I'm focusing on indoor projects while waiting for warm weather to return. I spent a recent productive Saturday morning cleaning kitchen cupboards, particularly the baking and spice cupboard. Old spices and other ingredients were discarded, shelves were cleaned, containers labeled and...