Are you in a season of restless searching? Is there a disquiet in your heart that perhaps can't be pinpointed? A wandering that has you looking in vain for the next big adventure? I am. I often am. If perhaps you can identify with my heart's yearnings, then you understand the search for validation, the... Continue Reading →
Let your light so shine before men
This whirlwind of a summer took off with a week-long visit from a dear friend, a week-long visit to see Houston family, a week of family festivities back in Colorado leading up to a cousin's wedding, and then now... All I have on my agenda today is babysitting and exercise. I must figure out what... Continue Reading →
Beholding the Christmas Season
One day of finals stands between this teacher and her Christmas break. Plates of cookies and a mound of semi-wrapped gifts await my notice (although, to be fair, the cookies have been receiving quite a bit of attention the past few days). Student smiles remain attached to gifts of coffee mugs, pumpkin bread mix, holiday... Continue Reading →
Baby, It’s Cold Outside
Charlie Brown's Christmas' "O Tannenbaum" serenades my efforts to celebrate all that is precious, good, and . . . alive. Very alive. A frothy espresso rewards my nearly all-day cleaning and decorating efforts. Laundry done. Sheets and towels washed. Every inch of bathroom and bedroom cleaned and dusted. Christmas decorations dug out of storage and... Continue Reading →
And then you realize the sun will come out {Tomorrow}
I laughed at a joke. Several witty responses to friends' Facebook posts popped unhindered into my mind. I'm hungry tonight...very hungry. Cramps don't wrack my body in the same way. I forget for a little while the grief that has dominated my heart for days. Despite the stormy forecast, I believe the sun may be... Continue Reading →
While the emotions are still raw {Or when God says, “Not now”}
What a wonderful night of sleep...in the midst of my colorful fantasy land two tests came up "pregnant." One even blinked the word at me in some ethereal code of congratulations. I was surrounded by family and friends to tell and surprise. It was beautiful. ~~~ Sitting on the bathroom floor, however, my miracle lasted... Continue Reading →
Something worth burning
One doesn't light a sacrificial fire without a sacrifice at hand and ready. One doesn't lift hands in surrender without something pressing to yield. As Bill Johnson writes in A Life of Miracles, "He'll [Christ] give us His baptism of fire if we'll give Him something worth burning." And we so recklessly pray to... Continue Reading →
A glassblower’s shop {Into the flames again}
During a recent week-long get-away in Florida, I sat mesmerized in a brutally hot workshop of several glass blowers. The nondescript cement floor became the artists platform for beauty, while ugly tables and tools crafted the most delicate pieces of art. While most of the audience who sat on the bleachers watching the two craftsmen... Continue Reading →
Resilient
After a great storm, there follows a great calm. While the landscape may have become forlorn and desolate under the great winds and pounding rains, new life is fermenting in the ground. It's making merry, waiting for just the right time to taste birth. Seeds of hope have been putting down roots for months. The... Continue Reading →
Unprofessional snot
Swiping bravely at angry tears. Using the back of my sleeve to staunch the unprofessional snot smearing across my face. Unaware of what my mascara may or may not look like. Wishing it wasn't my school's superintendent sitting across from me in the hazy afternoon light. I was angry today. Very angry. I was also... Continue Reading →