By: redtentwomen July 31, 2018July 31, 2018 UncategorizedTheme to consider: Time1 Comment

Theme to consider: Time

For the month of August Red Tent Living is considering the theme of Time. Join us as our writers explore this theme or host a Red Tent Dinner and explore it with women around your own table.

Our Story

The idea for Red Tent Living started more than a decade ago with a book by the same name. The Rent 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.

Right On Time

By: redtentwomen August 17, 2018August 13, 2018

Day to Day, Intentional LivingBethany Cabell, Giving Up, Miss Manners, Priorities, Procrastination, self-care, Thank You Notes4 Comments

Months after our wedding, I received an anonymous envelope with a newspaper clipping from the Miss Manners column titled, “Thank-you notes way, way overdue.” While reading the words on the page, my eyes skipped to the underlined portion which read, “They would like to know that you received what they sent you, and that they…

Wandering through Wonderland

By: redtentwomen August 16, 2018August 14, 2018

Literature, Monthly ThemesAlice in Wonderland, Curiosity, desire, failure, Mal Arnold, possibility, Time, Wasting Time2 Comments

Time. The word ticks and tocks loudly in my mind as I look back on my 32 years. I can see the chances I wasted from fear-based reasoning and opportunities never given despite my best intentions. I mourn the talents that never blossomed into full potential and the dreams I squashed because of other’s preconceived…

The Civil Wars

By: redtentwomen August 15, 2018August 15, 2018

Monthly Themes, relationshipsBessel van der Kolk, Childhood, Love, Marriage, reenactment, Therapy, Time, trauma14 Comments

We look at the world once, in childhood. The rest is memory. –Louise Glück A few months ago, my husband and I lay under our down comforter, which felt far too heavy for a mild Florida winter. I felt empty and bored after a long day with the kids, so I roused an argument…

Ready or Not, Here I come!

By: redtentwomen August 13, 2018August 13, 2018

Day to Day, relationshipsAnxiety, Change, Grief, Jean Masukevich, Marriage, Sow That8 Comments

From the moment the work truck pulled into the driveway when the kids were small, a beautiful anticipation bubbled up and filled the air. Happy squeals and scurrying feet abounding as we all took cover to hide from dad, including the big black lab who always gave us away. Kevin would enter with such joy and…

Strangely Protected

By: redtentwomen August 10, 2018August 7, 2018

Day to Day, Faith, relationshipsMary Jane Hamilton, Prayer, Praying with your Spouse17 Comments

There is a certain intimacy that accompanies prayer with another person. One would think that the person closest to you would be the easiest one to engage in prayer, but I have found that not to be so. John and I have had numerous fits and starts to a prayer life together that dwindles before we…

Life by Numbers

By: redtentwomen August 9, 2018August 9, 2018

Day to Day, Monthly Themes, relationshipsCaregiver, Caring for your Spouse, Christine Browning, Conversations about heaven, Terminal Illness, The Passage of Time7 Comments

The kitchen clock breaks the silence of the early morning as I wait for the Keurig drip to complete its work, reminding me that the demands of the day have begun. Coffee and quiet reflection, reading, solace and contemplation must fit neatly into increments metered out by the demands of the day. Numbers soldier their…

It’s That Time

By: redtentwomen August 8, 2018August 7, 2018

Femininity, Monthly ThemesEmbodiment, Janet Stark, Menopause, Menstruation, Peri-menopause, Period, Puberty, Womanhood7 Comments

The day I got my first period holds the distinction of being one of my most humiliating memories. I was totally unprepared and felt terrified that the presence of blood signaled my impending death. Looking back, my lack of awareness is hard to fathom. I was the third of four girls in my family, so…

Sweet & Sour

By: redtentwomen August 6, 2018August 6, 2018

Day to Day, Monthly ThemesAmbivalence, Mallory Redmond, Motherhood, Postpartum, Time2 Comments

As a new mom, I’m often asked what surprises me most about motherhood. My answer varies depending on how grounded or rested I’m feeling in the moment. I’m surprised I’m here and wearing pants! is a less grounded example, but the response almost always has something to do with time.

Time to Dare

By: redtentwomen August 3, 2018August 3, 2018

Day to Day, Monthly Themes, relationshipsBecky Allender, Genetics, Intergenerational Effects of Preconception Trauma, Resilience, The Great Depression, The Greatest Generation, trauma10 Comments

My husband held me back with a force he used as a defensive lineman in high school. His face was intense and I didn’t care. Our next-door neighbor was screaming at me and his words lit me up like a prairie fire. As quiet and kind as I can be, this man evoked a rage in me that…

A Glimpse of That Girl

By: redtentwomen August 2, 2018August 2, 2018

Intentional Living, Monthly Themes, Red Tent Dinnerbeach, Childhood, Madeline L'Engle, Memory, story, Summer, Susan Tucker, The Passage of Time, the past6 Comments

I am still every age that I have been. Because I was once a child, I am always a child. Madeleine L’Engle This afternoon my family and I arrive at the beach for our twentieth annual trip with my parents. Soon after we unload the car and unpack our suitcases, we slip into our swimsuits…