Grief

Wracked with sobs that threatened to squeeze the life from my body, I held hers and felt her grief writhing in her, too. I sat on the kitchen floor holding my sixteen-year-old daughter like I did when she was small, her head on my shoulder, my arms wrapped around her holding her up. I had

What do you see?

It must be Mondays. Or maybe it’s because of the extra advertising for the holiday season. Whatever the cause, I’ve been struck today by the number of social media posts I’ve seen that address self-image. Beloved friends bemoaning their appearance. Reminders that grit and balance and kindness are more important than outer beauty. Ads with

New Year, New Adventures (aka I published a book!)

I am so excited about the release of my new book, Quaker Queries for All Seasons! In the book you will find 60 spiritual questions to guide us through a new year of seeking to grow in our Christ-centered faith. It is available in both paperback as well as Kindle ebook. If you’d like to

5 Ways to Not be a Jerk this Christmas

Holidays are stressful! Sometimes it is all we can do to hold ourselves together and maintain our status as civilized humans. Everything is pressure-filled, schedules are packed, people are living on caffeine and sugar. It all just leads to a gigantic case of the Christmas Crankies! Here are some ways you can resist the temptation

Have the Christmas You Have

For all my lovely friends who struggle at Christmas time, I want to offer this phrase: Have the Christmas You Have. Christmas is a time of joy and laughter and tradition. It’s also a time of sadness, depression, loneliness, frustration, conflict, guilt, comparison…and every other possible emotion or experience. Just as every day is different

When the rain falls and the floods rise

Into every life a little rain must fall. These words paraphrased from a Longfellow poem have been ringing in my ears today. It isn’t raining here, actually it’s been kind of a dry week. But I feel the rain. Many of my friends and family are also feeling the rain today; this week holds many

You’re Doing It WRONG!

I read another one today, a mommy blogger who mixes all the perfect things together like fashion modeling and Jesus, telling all the leggin’s-clad, stained XL t-shirt-wearing, run down moms exactly how much we are all failing. It totally worked. Now I am going to LOVE every minute of motherhood. Now, I am going to

The Team That Screams the Loudest

When I was in school, we would often have pep rallies where teams or grade levels would throw a cheer back and forth, getting louder every time until all the students in that section were screaming at the top of their lungs. There was only one rule, the team that screams the loudest wins. As

Juneteenth & Philando Castile, Still Waiting

A much overlooked holiday was observed in African American communities around the nation this week. Juneteenth is a celebration of the day the last slaves in Texas were told they were free. It was June 19th, 1865 and more than two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Two years. These men, women, and

Confusion and Joy

My message for Easter Sunday Celebration at First Friends Church in Emporia, KS. John 20:1-21 Confusion and Joy These were the emotions that accompanied the experiences of Jesus’s closest friends and followers on the day of his resurrection. And why not? Any one of us would feel the same. For years they had followed him,