cultivating the beautiful ordinary by sharing our tales and our tables
It is that stage in life where the day feels so full that there is barely room to breathe. With working full time, my day is brimming with stories, complaints, and check lists. My time at home is marked by conversations with my husband, bedtimes, and dishes. It is sweet to stop and breathe in cuddles with our…
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Considering the avid reader I was during my childhood and adolescence, it still surprises me that I never read The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. It wasn’t until the theatrical release of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in 2005 that I finally took my first trip to Aslan’s country. I remember feeling…
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“It is hard for you, little one,” said Aslan. “But things never happen the same way twice.” —Aslan, the Lion, to Lucy, the child, Prince Caspian, C. S. Lewis Things never happen the same way twice, dear one. I am a thirty-one year-old woman (Jessie), I have been married to my husband (Mikey) for almost…
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As I drove onto campus recently to begin my fifth year as a full-time faculty member at Milligan College, my thoughts turned to the first time I drove onto Buffalo Nation’s territory as an applicant for the advertised position. It was early June, and the beauty of the area was simply stunning.
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The morning after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, I went downstairs to find the kitchen table strangely empty. I’d grown used to seeing the Chicago Tribune scattered by section across the table, my parents taking turns picking through each segment.
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When my son, Seth, was in fourth grade, he began attending a new school.
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“Emma and her Grandpa walked to Mr. Barter’s orchard to pick apples for Grandma’s winter canning.
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The following is an excerpt that is abridged from my most recent book, Beauty and the Bitch: Grace for the Worst in Me, published by Bondfire Books.
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