The four of us piled into the car, two adults in the front with a camera between us. Two kids in the back, with a bad attitude sitting between them. We drove 2.9 miles to a new-to-us botanical garden and pulled into its gravel lot with a satisfying crunch. I drive by the entrance to the garden ... Read More about Rooted: Learning to Love Where We Live
Kindness as an Antidote to Outrage
At the end of the semester, I sit with my students individually to discuss their grade and their progress throughout the term. It's the only time I'm guaranteed a one-on-one meeting with each of them, and last week, I arrived early to set up my drink and my papers while I waited for them to sit ... Read More about Kindness as an Antidote to Outrage
When We Are on a Pilgrimage Home
"In the book of Isaiah the word of God is envisioned as the rain God sends to earth, and the prophet declares that it will return not empty, but bearing good fruit. If we are made in God's image, perhaps we are also words of God in this sense, and our life's pilgrimage is to determine what our ... Read More about When We Are on a Pilgrimage Home
Remembering Who We Were Before We Became Parents
I sat on the sofa wide-eyed as a former version of my husband emerged. He moved fluidly through his old aikido motions, using the momentum of his body rather than force to drive his sparring partner to the floor. His sparring partner happened to be twelve years old and giggling the entire time, but ... Read More about Remembering Who We Were Before We Became Parents
Walking Through Difficulties When We’d Rather Go Around Them
*This is an updated version of a post from the archives. "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you." ~Isaiah 43:2 The first time I heard the ... Read More about Walking Through Difficulties When We’d Rather Go Around Them
Showing Up as Your Full Self: On Nuance and Living Faithfully
I scribbled down the speaker's words in my notebook as she spoke them from the stage, "The Christian community, historically, is not great at nuance." She went on to say that we are complex people, full of multi-layered versions of our selves encompassing different roles, different loves, different ... Read More about Showing Up as Your Full Self: On Nuance and Living Faithfully
