Fall. My favorite season. I close the windows of summer and bask in the new quietness of the inside. The spicy aroma of cinnamon, apples, and cloves overcomes the sweet fragrances of snapdragons, lilies, and roses. Nature walks lead to pockets full of pine cones, acorn hats, and seed pods. Tree ... read more
An Honest Look at 10 Years
Ten years ago I said "I do"to Nate, and vowed to be his wife in good times, hard times, sick times, fun times, confusing times, and any other times Nate and I might traverse together. Some might say we're lucky to make ten years, and a look at the marriage statistics in our culture would confirm ... read more
Home
Home. In the house in which I grew--up and out and on and into--me. Laying down to rest after an early plane flight, the smell of the pillowcase finds me. I whiff years of love. I feel the air here, as if it were the same air I breathed the first eighteen years of my life. The house feels smaller ... read more
How negative emotions can be good for you
I hardly live a day without some sort of frustration (or other negative emotion). It could be a hang nail that sets me off. Or it could be a harsh word from someone I love. Or it could be spilled milk, like yesterday at dinner time when I pulled out the tray of the high chair, not slightly as I ... read more
Monday Gifts: Fellowship Offerings
When Jesus said, "Come to me, all who are weary and I will give you rest," I think he had in mind the ministry-mom walking in the door after church. It's early to church for me on Sundays, stay for two services, home at (a late) lunch time. One child wants to tell me about Sunday school, the other ... read more
The Work of His Hands
I knew I liked my ears rubbed, but I forgot how soothing it is when someone finger-brushes my hair. My five-year-old daughter is pretending to style my frizzy waves with water from the sprinkler, and I like her standing by me, a sort of reversal with her rising above my sitting form and doing my ... read more
Picking Your Life Up Off the Floor
It was the end of a long day in which frustrating events had strung together like beads on a necklace, an ugly mismatched necklace I'd only be wearing in a fashion nightmare. We were having cereal for dinner. In the midst of sternly voicing frustration over something child-related, I spilled the ... read more