cultivating the beautiful ordinary by sharing our tales and our tables
My oldest daughter was not a cuddly child in her first four years of life. She wanted her space, and we learned to give it to her. At some point, however, she’s changed her mind on all things physical touch. These days, she cannot get close enough to me, her dad, or her sister. She…
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It’s mid-August 2020, the third week following Mom’s life-changing scan. This journey into the unknown, a terminal cancer diagnosis, is still new. Two of my sisters return from Ohio for a second visit. They will make many more eight-hour drives over the next weeks and months, together and separately. Across town, I try to establish…
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I remember first noticing that my feelings about women’s Bible studies had slowly been changing after I’d just finished hosting a different sort of gathering in my home. While having the obligatory post-processing session with my patient husband, I realized I wasn’t working through or, frankly, complaining about what had or hadn’t been said. It was…
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When my friend and fellow ministry leader, Dave, passed away unexpectedly (and far too early), I made a vow. I have come to understand that vows can be used for protection against harm and also be good and hold a loyal oath. My vow was the latter. At Dave’s memorial, I remember hearing a handful…
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“We both have truths; are mine the same as yours?” Pontius Pilate asks Jesus in the movie Jesus Christ Superstar. That line has stayed with me since the movie’s 1973 debut. That was the first year I was living on my own, disowned by my family, divorced from my husband, disconnected from myself, and feeling…
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Let me be seen as beautiful My body, whole and free Let me be seen as human Not less than you Let me express my wisdom Not silenced by you
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Silence was the language of my childhood—in our home, in the car, walking side-by-side. When our kids were born, I wanted to make sure car rides were filled with music and laughter and conversation. Some of the very best of the latter have taken place on the way to school. Here is one of my…
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A few years ago, my kids and I stumbled upon the insane mystery of Devil’s Hole in Death Valley National Park, Nevada. This ultra-deep pool of water fed by underground aquifers lies in one of the most arid regions on earth. It is also habitat to one of the rarest subspecies of fish on the…
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Everyone envisions a family. For some it is a picket fence, three kids, and a collie. My vision was a rowdy tribe, living one wild adventure after another.
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I was never a bandwagon football fan. I grew up on Sunday afternoons, as young as five years old, listening to my father tell me about the details of football plays and how it all worked. My favorite NFL team was the Chicago Bears, with its quarterback Jim McMahon. Their defense was incredible. Later, my…
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