Elle leaned against the fender of the Plymouth watching fireflies blink over the field across the highway. She had pulled onto the shoulder over an hour ago with a flat tire; it was nearly nine, but the air was still close. Her tank top stuck to her back where it had been pressed against the …
The rug was rolled and pushed with the bed up against the far wall. A chest of drawers sat catty-corner the door, drawers emptied. She hadn’t painted a room since they tried to sell the house after the kids left for school, so she poured the paint into the tray with a too-quick slosh. Dipping …
A few years ago I was cleaning out my file drawers. I use “file” here loosely because the drawers are an odd collection of miscellaneous ephemera: ticket stubs, campground maps, prayer cards, receipts ($12.97 at Meijer, and I saved this?!), and unopened mortgage offers. I’d just slogged my way through some serious upheaval and organizing …
He created them male and female, and he blessed them and called them “human.”Genesis 5:2 New Living Translation It was one of those late night conversations, just friend-to-friend over two (or it was three?) glasses of wine. My good friend turned to me and tossed out this zinger: “You approach life like a man.” I …
Love Warrior Glennon Doyle Melton Flatiron Books “The journey is learning that pain, like love, is simply something to surrender to. It’s a holy space we can enter with people only if we promise not to tidy up … the courage to surrender comes from knowing that the love and pain will almost kill us, …
My word of the year for 2017 is unfold. And I’m pretty sure I’m in love with it. The idea of choosing a word to focus on is gaining popularity, but my prompt came from writer and photographer Susannah Conway whose website is a treasure trove of gentle nudges to think. Reflect. Transform. And dare I …
For at least November, I ordered up a few things I everyone else had read, but me–I’d been too busy reading advanced copies. It was time for a little vacation from those DRCs and how I’ve loved having books in my hand again–ones with real pages I can fold down to mark my spot (yes, I’m that …
I’ve amused myself with this little blog for eight years now. For most of that time, blogging was a delightful diversion, a pastime for those long summer days. And then suddenly, it wasn’t. Thinking I’d been bitten by the blogging bug, I saw blogging conferences in my future and read everything I could about the business …
It started with a dispute over taxes. Or, rather, tax ordinance. My husband’s employer didn’t withhold city taxes because the shop was not in city limits, but we paid the full tax bill every April–never delinquent, paid in full. Bureaucracy being what it is, the city required we file an income estimate every quarter. No …
One day when I was in 2nd grade, the librarian and my teacher Mrs. Zimmerman whispered, heads together, by the counter when it was time for my class to leave. And then–wonder of wonders–I was allowed to stay, gifted a few extra minutes of library time. The rest of the children lined up and it was …
This is my symphony 