My identity was faked on Facebook. A bunch of my friends were used as pawns for pillaging. It’s so creepy. I’m so sorry. My picture smiling, hovering over videos concocted to coax and confiscate. Thieves advancing right along with technology. Though confidentiality clauses and privacy policies plaster everything we sign, code, or chip—they’re finding new…
Read More
Everyday life can become a lonely place. We can feel singularly and hopelessly alone. It doesn’t have to be this way. We have a choice. We can leave our pride behind and be joined in the body of Christ. We won’t miss anything we trade. We’ll only gain everything we miss. Despite all the arguments…
Read More
The book is finished. The memoir I’ve been writing: PERMISSION, Loving the Child You Were Written to Be. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. A book I believe God called me to write. It’s done. No…it hasn’t been published. It hasn’t even been edited for errors or flowability or whatever it’s called…
Read More
Biting lips and holding the tongue—isn’t that keeping the peace? No words get exchanged, no fighting ignites, and everyone walks away in one piece. No bloodshed doesn’t mean no harm done. How many times have I walked out, or sent others away, emotionally injured, insulted, or hostile? Thin grinned and clutching coats we can’t get…
Read More
Kneeling at my bedside, pressing palms together, I followed Mom’s lead to pray. “God bless your father, your brothers and sister,” she would say, and I repeat. Greatness is found on our knees. Like nothing else I ever did as a kid, stopping and speaking to God sounded like an opportunity—the chance of a lifetime.…
Read More
Two days ago I got word of a friend whose daughter is suddenly fighting a mysterious illness. It ripped an old wound. Every time this sort of news makes the prayer chain my heart stops. Instantly, I relive pleading and begging and wanting what I cannot possibly get; the wholly, healthy, pain-free daughter I once…
Read More
My parents bought a home in the country after marrying. Almost 60 years later you wouldn’t recognize the place. The lengthy gravel driveway I ran barefoot is buried under burning asphalt. The mulberry tree, turning our fingers purple, was cut down decades ago. Corncrib tunnels I climbed, peeking through wooden slats, was taken by tornado.…
Read More
A cup of cold water. A coat. A visit. A lost sheep. A bruised reed. What I look at. What I think about. How I ask. My No. My Yes. My cares. My doubt. My conscience. My contentment. My joy. The day. The hour. My friends. My neighbor. The stranger. My debts. All my tears.…
Read More
Have you ever given a gift that was blatantly unappreciated? I found one of those pivotal bible verses calligraphed onto a plaque I thought perfect for a friend. She struggles with depression. LOVE NEVER FAILS, hanging on her wall might be exactly what she needs to coax her into a brighter future. Maybe if she loved…
Read More
Suffering with social anxiety makes the heart wilt and the brain blank. It’s been busy. And impossible to write these past few days, but feeling lighter today. So grateful for breeze blowing through bedroom windows. A tall, leafy red oak bouncing off the wind. Welcoming moss roses to our front door. Ham sandwiches and watermelon…
Read More