By: redtentwomen January 1, 2022 Monthly ThemesMonthly Themes, Theme to consider: The MaidenLeave a Comment

January: The Maiden

For the month of January the women of Red Tent Living will be considering the theme of “The Maiden”. We invite you to join us by reading, or by hosting your own Red Tent Dinner and inviting some women to come share their own stories provoked by this month’s theme.

Our Story

The idea for Red Tent Living started more than a decade ago with a book by the same name. The Red Tent, the best-selling historical fiction novel by Anita Diamont, retold the story of Dinah from the book of Genesis.

Writing Guidelines

Red Tent Living is a community of women from across the world reading, writing, reflecting, and responding to one another daily as we reframe what it means to be feminine. We welcome you to join in the conversation and submit your own work!

Hosting a Red Tent Dinner

Purpose: Once a month gatherings for 6-8 women that include enjoying a meal together and taking time to share pieces of their lives with one another. It is a place where believers and non believers in Jesus can experience community as they find connection in unexpected ways with one another.

On the Wings of Hope

By: redtentwomen January 21, 2022December 13, 2021

Femininity, Monthly Themes, relationshipsHope, hope and fear, Hopelessness, kindness of strangers, Mother, wedding, Wendy Lipham7 Comments

July 3, 1954. She sat alone at the end of the counter while noise and laughter rose and fell around her. She hardly noticed the soda placed in front of her by the waitress with the sweet Southern drawl. While she was trying to hold onto hope, sadness settled in as she replayed the months that…

Embracing the Maiden

By: redtentwomen January 19, 2022December 9, 2021

Intentional Living, Monthly Themes, relationshipsBeing a bride, Mallory Redmond, Single Woman, Singleness, Waiting, Wednesday in the Weeds2 Comments

There was one Halloween in elementary school when I dressed up as a bride. I had a long white dress and a lace veil covering my face, though nothing about my costume could cover the beauty I felt while walking down the concrete aisle to every front door in my neighborhood, building myself a candy…

Making Peace with Innocence

By: redtentwomen January 17, 2022January 17, 2022

Faith, Femininity, Monthly Themes, relationshipsBrené Brown, Innocence, Nicole Clifton, purity culture, vulnerability4 Comments

When I hear the word “innocent,” it makes me cringe. Not in a “She’s innocent until proven guilty” kind of way, but in the “She is young, lovely, and innocent” kind of way. I’ve tried to release that feeling when it comes to others, but I must be honest that when I think of those…

By: redtentwomen January 14, 2022December 4, 2021

Art, Faith, Monthly Themesenvy, Grace, seeing through God's eyes, self worth, Stephany Mahtani1 Comment

Look beyond the castle cresting along the coast. Look beyond its flowered fields blooming more than most. Pull away your velvet panels, Float upon the ocean channels. You are more than you know.

A Maiden Who Saves Herself

By: redtentwomen January 12, 2022January 5, 2022

Femininity, Monthly Themes, Warriorfemale strength, Janet Stark, oppressive systems, resourcefulness, Wednesday in the Weeds1 Comment

The highlight of Thanksgiving for me last year included time spent with my daughter, Katie, who moved to Washington, D.C. a year ago. Since moving, she’s made the 11-hour solo drive back to Michigan on several occasions. Each time, I feel a simultaneous concern for her safety, alongside awareness of her capability, an awareness that…

Young Love Past Midlife

By: redtentwomen January 10, 2022December 13, 2021

Faith, Femininity, Monthly ThemesAmy Altstatt, Belonging to God, Belovedness, Experiencing God's Love, Purpose4 Comments

The last two years I have been in turmoil over purpose, and it has been a tumultuous ride of undulating ups and downs. All the implications of “purpose” led me down roads of losing myself in an effort to understand who I was. But the pot of gold that you might think lay at the…

Revisiting

By: redtentwomen January 7, 2022January 4, 2022

Femininity, Intentional Living, Monthly Themes, relationshipscareer, envy, Freedom, Marriage, surrendering self, Vanessa Sadler4 Comments

As she spoke of wedding plans, her eyebrows drew together, lines becoming visible on her young face. I watched the weight of exhaustion sweep over her, pulling her shoulders forward. She sighed. It is clear she is in love with her partner. He is absolutely smitten and she is equally adoring of him. I had…

Scrolling Through Time

By: redtentwomen January 5, 2022December 8, 2021

Day to Day, Intentional Living, Monthly Themes, relationshipsGrowing Up, Haley Wiggers, Instagram, maturing, Social media, Transformation, Wednesday in the WeedsLeave a Comment

One of the first pictures I posted to Instagram was of a smashed banana with googly eyes. I believe the caption said, “Look what I found on my pillow. I squashed it. #evil #friends.” How absurd. That was pure, authentic, youthful Haley right there. I keep scrolling to find more pictures from my college years—pictures…

Turning the Page

By: redtentwomen January 3, 2022December 8, 2021

Day to Day, Intentional Living, Monthly ThemesA New Year, Control, daily planner, Maryhelen Martens, Planning, Releasing, Spontaneous Living2 Comments

In and out of my purse it goes. Here and there in my home it moves. Shiny black cover, spiral bound, carrying my “life” inside of it. As I moved into the elementary school years of my kids two decades ago, I began to tote this “August-to-August” pal. The style of an At-a-Glance weekly planner…

What Will You Make This New Year?

By: redtentwomen December 31, 2021December 3, 2021

Art, Day to Day, Intentional Living, relationships, The HomeArt, Beauty, creativity, Katy Johnson, Katy Stafford, pandemic recovery, Starting Over8 Comments

It’s a cozy, quiet Sunday morning. I type near the Christmas tree, a sleeping pup curled at my feet and a YouTube fire flickering noiselessly on my TV because my apartment doesn’t have a fireplace. Outside, the world glistens, covered in its first true blanket of snow. These Midwest mornings, the ones that stretch from…