Red Tent Living

Distracted

By: redtentwomen July 3, 2020July 3, 2020

Day to Day, Monthly Themes, relationships, WarriorBecky Allender, Covid19, Enneagram Nine, George Floyd, presence, Racial Justice3 Comments

I heard the tires on the gravel driveway and called Dan to hurry! We rushed out the door and we greeted four year-old Grace and I swiftly rushed to the other side of the car and unbuckled five-week old Parker Anne for the first time! I gently held her in my arms and helped Grace…

Presence

By: redtentwomen July 2, 2020July 1, 2020

Day to Day, relationships, FaithAimee S, God's faithfulness, Mothering Newborns, New MotherLeave a Comment

Just as we sit down to dinner, her screams pierce our ears. Our daughter is not happy. She has been fed, diapered, and laid down to rest. This is not okay in her mind, and she is making that clearly known. Her cries seem to translate into “Where did you go? Someone come get me!”…

The Space Between

By: redtentwomen July 1, 2020June 30, 2020

Faith, Intentional Living, Warrior, WholeheartedDeath, Grief, Hope, Inner Peace, Jean Masukevich9 Comments

There is a war that rages in my heart between life and death, right and wrong, sorrow and joy, good and bad, faith and fear. I have learned, through prayer and meditation, to love and honor both sides of the war and to rest in the middle ground, where peace is always awaiting my return.…

Pride

By: redtentwomen June 29, 2020June 27, 2020

Day to Day, Faith, Monthly ThemesChristianity and LGBTQ, LGBTQ, LGBTQ affirming, Pride, Pride Month, Tracy Johnson17 Comments

“I’m wondering what you would think about me going to the parade this weekend?” His eyes were locked on mine, searching for the first sign of hesitation or judgement. I don’t know what he saw for sure. I wanted to be that mom full of “yes” energy, cheering him on and making sure he knew…

Mercy on a Piano Bench

By: redtentwomen June 26, 2020June 21, 2020

Day to Day, Intentional Living, Monthly Themes, relationshipsEllen Oelsen, Racial Reconciliation, Racism, White Privilege6 Comments

Cradled and held close to his chest, my entire body lay completely limp, my arms and legs dangling from the strength of his arms. The image came quickly to my mind as I rocked in a white wicker rocker on my front porch with tears streaming down my face. In silence with no words, I…

Sun Jesus

By: redtentwomen June 25, 2020June 25, 2020

Day to DayAnna Smith, Deconstructing Faith, Ebenezers, Raising Children, Surprised by GodLeave a Comment

“Mama, can I see Jesus on your arm?” Asha asked me as she turned my arm around to see the sun with a soft, smiling face just below my elbow. Pausing for a second, I was stunned, for I was not expecting such a powerful question. This tender moment happened candidly for the first time…

The Woodlands Fairy Child

By: redtentwomen June 24, 2020June 23, 2020

Day to DayFireflies, Marín Sommerfeld, Play, Trauma Recovery3 Comments

*This piece was written in the beginning of April. Much has happened in our world since then and the author wishes you to know that her heart is angered by the flagrant injustices—both past and present— suffered by people of color. She grew-up in a family insensitive to the current suffering, and as an adult has…

Remembering the Wonder

By: redtentwomen June 23, 2020June 21, 2020

Day to Day, FaithAdventure, Fireflies, Gatlinburg, Haley Wiggers, Smokey Lane, Smoky Mountains, Summer Ministry, TN2 Comments

Our ministry together hadn’t even begun. We were merely days into our time living in a run-down shack of a house that hardly had a front door and no air conditioning, which was problematic because we were living in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, at the time. If you can imagine a home that needs to be flipped,…

Leaving

By: redtentwomen June 22, 2020June 21, 2020

Faith, Intentional LivingBarbara Beecham, COVID-19, Faith, Panic, Peace3 Comments

COVID-19 has revealed some things about myself. There are times I get this familiar panic feeling rising up in me—the same kind of feeling I’d get before my children were born. I was excited about a new baby coming, but also terrified that something might go wrong during the birthing process. The only words I…

Yes

By: redtentwomen June 19, 2020June 16, 2020

Day to Day, Faith, Intentional LivingCOVID-19, Heather Stringer, Life In Ritual, Pandemic Life, Pondering, Purpose, Releasing, Susan Tucker1 Comment

“Begin in a place in your soul’s landscape…” I receive Heather’s invitation through my computer screen, which feels like a familiar mode of interaction after five weeks of sheltering-at-home. Twenty-five faces seem to stare at me from a grid of rectangles, so I close my eyes and repeat Heather’s invitation…my soul’s landscape.