cultivating the beautiful ordinary by sharing our tales and our tables
As I consider my final Red Tent essay, I remember the distinct feeling of writing my first piece. It came flowing out of my heart in a hospital room, and it “had to be” shared. In the midst of my processing and growth, the tent has felt like a protected space that holds my historic…
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I AM RADIANT, VIBRANT, AND MAGNETIC. These are the tender, yet bold, and, honestly, very necessary words a beloved friend strategically taped to my desk when I wasn’t looking. I’m in a season where the language I use to talk about who I am, my personality, and my strengths and weaknesses feels like it can…
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Tracy Johnson asked me to support her new endeavor, Red Tent Living. I know how difficult it has been for me to ask for support for mission trips or the founding of a new graduate school. It is humbling, for me, to ask for anything. I did not want Tracy to have an awkward pause…
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One year ago, I stood in front of a full-length mirror staring back at myself as I was clothed in a vibrant orange, magenta, and gold stamp-printed Saree and blouse. My thick, long hair held a braid that started at the crown of my head and finished down the middle of my back. My wrists…
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“Sadly, the body of Christ has often failed to see trauma as a place of service…I think a look at suffering humanity would lead to the realization that trauma is perhaps the greatest mission field of the twenty-first century.” – Diane Langberg Almost eleven years have passed since Tom’s diagnoses: Mycobacterial Avium Complex (MAC), Bronchiectasis,…
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When my friend Ted died from esophageal cancer, he was my seventh friend to die in seven years. I was bereft. Ted and I had been close friends for thirty years. By his generosity, he inspired me to be generous, and he also fostered my love of travel. Because of him, I have had some…
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It’s 3:30 a.m. I’m tossing a turning again, beads of sweat rolling between my shoulder blades and breasts…again. I forgot to take magnesium when I was winding down for the evening…again. I’m dreading the alarm clock going off in just a few short hours and waking up groggy to the never-ending list of tasks that…
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I am on a hero’s journey. To where? I do not know. All I do is chooseto show up each day As a bright light As a brave heart As burning hope.
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“I am not nearly as much fun as I was a year ago.” I made this statement to a friend after she asked what I’ve observed as the biggest change in myself since I started working as a chaplain. Sitting with others in the depths of their despair, pain, loneliness, and lack of resources is…
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I have had an ambivalent relationship with practice. The word alone conjures up many feelings. First, my eleven years of piano lessons were wrought with more pain than pleasure. Many hours my body yearned to have been running, bicycling, or playing sports, but I was living in an era when piano lessons were more common…
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