cultivating the beautiful ordinary by sharing our tales and our tables
“Can we take a moment and breathe a minute? I need to pause to feel what all of this means.” I spoke as I glanced at the faces of my two friends on the Zoom screen. A tear slid down my cheek while deep disappointment registered in my chest. Massive anticipation seemed to slither out of…
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The sign above the door said it all: Lake Rules: Relax, Relax, Relax. I had intentionally pulled away for a couple days of solitude. The use of the home, situated on a lake, was an unbelievable gift from friends, one that undid me as I walked in, taking in the beauty and stillness around me.…
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I still remember the knots that formed in my stomach as my 16th birthday approached. To me, it felt high stakes. I wanted to invite everyone—guys and girls, my crush and his friends, favorite teachers, friends in college and beyond it. I wanted to throw a party people showed up to. I wanted to be a…
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I sit in a room of nearly 100 women assembled at my church for a dinner gathering. I try to engage in the conversation at my table as I pick at my meal, but I am distracted by the knowledge that soon a video featuring part of my story will play. At each of these…
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“Well, it will be 364 days until we get to have fun again.” This comment came from my 7 year old son as he and I were relaxing after the chaos of Christmas morning. My heart ached as I heard him say this. Memories of my own Christmas morning disappointments surfaced.
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We walk along the ridge in the golden haze of dusk. The rim our neighborhood sits upon, before plunging down to railroad tracks, opens to fields that are beautiful in all seasons.
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There is a sense of urgency growing within me with each passing year. It stems from a place deep in my heart that cradles the memories of what was and the reality of what is today.
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In fairy tales, the endings were always my favorite. You just knew that the miracle would happen. True beauty would be seen and love would overcome. Good would prevail.
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I busily and excitedly prepared for my first Red Tent Dinner. Invitations, RSVPs, and reminder emails were behind us.
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I’m in a bible study this semester and one of the assignments was to write a Psalm. We had to think about who God is, who we are, and the things we are thinking about God.
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