I sat cross-legged on my mat in the exercise room surrounded by glass, feeling as conspicuous as a single fish in an otherwise empty fishbowl. Other cross-legged classmates filled the room, but I couldn’t get over the feeling that other gym-goers eyes followed me as I sat deep-breathing into my ribs. It wasn’t until I closed my eyes and focused…
Read More
Hiding God’s Word in Our Hearts: Scripture Memory Cards
As a kid, I attended a Christian school and participated in weekly Bible classes. We memorized scripture in exchange for good grades. On weekends, I followed the line of children filing out of the church sanctuary to the classrooms in the hall. I listened to stories illustrated by flannel graph, and recited my weekly verse for a single piece of…
Read More
Sunshine and Somersaults
Nine girls giggling, squealing, splashing. Nine girls laughing hard and diving long into the deep end. Nine girls bearing brightly wrapped gifts and faces smeared with ice cream smiles. They ate all the red and pink Starbursts, and took turns wearing the blue mermaid tail that shimmers when it flips through the water. My husband and I sat and watched…
Read More
A Trip Down Memory Lane
A few weeks ago, a friend and I who live a state apart, decided to meet each other halfway for a day. It turns out that halfway landed us in my former backyard, where my husband and I grew up in Pennsylvania. While I drive home often to visit family, I rarely have the chance to get out and about…
Read More
Mothers: Making Summers Count, One Snapshot at a Time
I count summers now. I didn’t begin counting them until I survived all the summers that involved me and at least one child of potty-training age, but now that I have a kid in high school with two others on her heels, I hover over the number as it grows smaller. I have three summers left with all my chicks…
Read More
