Red Tent Living

Prodigal Love

By: redtentwomen June 25, 2019June 24, 2019

Faith, Monthly Themes, relationshipsforgiveness, Henri Nouwen, Reconciliaton, Rembrandt, Restoration, The Return of the Prodigal, Tracy Johnson2 Comments

I was sitting at a desk that had been my husband’s, his Cross pen-set gone and the walls now void of his credentials and degrees. The circumstances that had unfolded in the months prior were difficult, to say the least. Mark had resigned and was engaging some much-needed Sabbath rest, and I had said yes…

Broken Heart Healing

By: redtentwomen June 24, 2019June 23, 2019

Day to Day, Faith, Monthly Themes#churchtoo, #SilenceIsNotSpiritual, Megan, mental health, Recovery from Abuse3 Comments

My five-year-old fingers pulled the red crayon from the box. I placed it in the middle of the paper, made a curving line upward and around to a diagonal line downward. I came back to the dot in the center and made a symmetrical figure, a picture of a perfect heart. My heart was created…

Unexpected

By: redtentwomen June 21, 2019June 16, 2019

Day to Day, relationships37th Anniversary, Counseling, Marcia Thomas, Marriage, Retirement9 Comments

In the night, when I return to bed after a bathroom trip (thank you, menopause) my husband will often turn and touch my hair before we both go back to sleep. And if he returns from a trip, he adjusts my bed covers. I smile. There are two pieces of my life I usually don’t…

True Love

By: redtentwomen June 20, 2019June 16, 2019

Day to Day, relationshipsAgape Love, Caregiver, Caring for Family, Domestic Abuse, John 15:13, Madeline Bialecki5 Comments

Growing up in a working-class neighborhood in Detroit during the 1950’s and 60’s, one couple stood out as being different from the rest of us and to my mind, they were very exotic. Unlike our other neighbors, this couple had no children and the woman worked in an office downtown. The man was Hollywood handsome…

Graduate

By: redtentwomen June 19, 2019June 19, 2019

Day to Day, relationshipsADHD, High School Graduation, Jill Dyer, Raising Kids, This Darling Mom6 Comments

I lay on the grassy hill, my legs bent up behind me, my chin resting on my hands. The voice of my friend on the phone is so young. Much younger than her years. We are chatting about current events that trigger young places in her lovely yet trauma-filled life. I’m listening carefully. I want…

Back to each other.

By: redtentwomen June 18, 2019June 16, 2019

relationshipsDating, forgiveness, Katy Johnson, relationships3 Comments

I grip the steering wheel of the parked car, working up the nerve to cross the lot and enter the bar. The doors of my jetta hold me in. I can stay here forever, till I choose to spill out and into whatever the night holds. Already, the setting sun floods the scene before me,…

Well-Armored

By: redtentwomen June 17, 2019June 16, 2019

Day to Day, relationshipsAimee S, Being Single, CS Lewis, Dating, Taking a RiskLeave a Comment

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal….Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket,…

The Wounded Warrior

By: redtentwomen June 14, 2019June 13, 2019

Day to Day, FaithMichelle Goodman, Poetry, Recovery from Abuse2 Comments

Write, she says, you have to keep writing. To write is to go to war. Go to war with who I am and who I was and who I’m supposed to be. But who am I supposed to be? Am I supposed to be anyone or am I supposed to be me? In a resistance…

Knowing Love

By: redtentwomen June 13, 2019June 12, 2019

Monthly ThemesA General Theory of Love, intuition, Janet Stark, knowing, Love, Marriage, Richard Rohr, uncertainty1 Comment

I remember the moment I first heard the words “I love you” from someone other than a family member. Chris and I were sitting in his car, in the same campus parking lot where we had met a few months before. After kissing me goodnight, he spoke those magical words, “I love you, Janet.” Immediately,…

The Love Chase

By: redtentwomen June 12, 2019June 12, 2019

Faith, Monthly ThemesAcceptance, Faith, God's Love, Jesus, Love, Natasha Stevens, Self Love3 Comments

As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Joshua 1:6 We met years ago, but we lost touch. Reconnecting with that one love you’ve always had is one of the most exhilarating experiences. I was suffocating and could barely breathe under the weight of…