Reflections from the Soul Care Retreat . . . “Francis de Sales, a seventeenth-century priest and writer, addressed anxiety in his Introduction to the Devout Life: ‘Unresting anxiety is the greatest evil which can happen to the soul, sin only excepted.’ The anxious heart, in its flailings, loses its hold on whatever graces God has bestowed … Continue reading Transfiguration
They come in like always that first day, some wild, loud, and bold, some crying, clinging, and unsure. They come and come, and I stand there on the stage and watch them and feel the tiredness in my bones and think, “It’s already been so much work, and the week is just beginning.” They just … Continue reading Reflections on VBS Week
If I could touch the rough wood, let Your blood drip down onto my fingertips, if I could hear the ragged breath, see the flesh torn, if I could witness fists clenched upon spikes listen to the sobs watch your cruelly crowned head hang, if I heard the hoarse prayer, forgive, considered eyes full of … Continue reading Good Friday
It begins as a convenience, a way of speeding up the process. “We have to bring a sacrifice anyway, so why not just have it right here, all ready to go? That way anyone can come.” Yes, it begins for anyone and everyone, a way for all to meet God. Right? Don’t have a lamb? … Continue reading Den of Thieves
When You came riding down the mountain, we adored You. Here was the King, our King, at last. The King we wanted. The King who fit the shape of our making. Surely the man who cowed the Pharisees could speak in the halls of great men. Those hands that fed us from nothing would … Continue reading Triumphal Entry
“I tend to go through life trying—in futility, I might add—to create a self each day rather than to simply receive a self each day. And any self that is created by anything or anyone other than the Creator, the God that breathed me into being, can only be false. Any self that I create … Continue reading receiving your name
I hate clutter. With a passion. Yet I find myself surrounded by endless clutter, every day. My desk at home, both my desks at work, my kitchen, my car, my yard, my bedroom, and most of all, my living room, where two grownups, three kids, two cats, one dog, and one wood-chomping fireplace all dump … Continue reading Space
there are many mes. there is the beautiful me whom everyone admires, and the selfless me who suffers in silence. there is the me who can do it all and do it well. there is the loving me, who never says a hard word. there is the smiling happy me, hiding. there is the spiritual … Continue reading midlife reflections
You came to be held. This is what I keep coming back to this Christmas. You, very God, slipping from the womb of a terrified teenage girl, wriggling, wet, squalling in the cold night. Held. Tiny fists flailing helplessly. Eyes unfocused, not yet able to even see the world you made. Mouth grasping for nourishment. … Continue reading held
Welcome to the re-launch of my old blog! Today, on my birthday, I needed a new start. I've been silent for awhile, and pondering for awhile about what my writing life might look like. I'm not really sure what that means yet, but I do know that when I don't write, a part of myself … Continue reading Welcome to my new blog
View from the Valley 