memories
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What Do You Give a Graduate Who Needs More Than a Celebration?
There is a particular kind of worry that settles into a parent somewhere around graduation season — not the kind you talk about at the party, but the kind that finds you in the kitchen at night, long after the dishes are done, thinking about your child and what comes next for them. You have watched them grow up. You have watched them struggle and push through and figure things out, sometimes with your help and sometimes very much without it, the way kids have to when they are becoming their own person. And now they are standing at the edge of something enormous, and you are proud — genuinely,…
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Because You Can’t Walk Beside Them Anymore
While you’re out shopping for dorm room supplies, there’s something else nagging you behind the anticipation of their new adventure. Yes, you’re full of excitement and joy for their new adventure, but you’re fearful of the heavy isolation of the world might find them first. You remember every prayer you’ve whispered over them since they were small, and all you can do now is hope that it was enough. But here’s the thing you can’t and shouldn’t let go of: One in three, they say, that 1 in 3 young adults inevitably face frequent, high levels of loneliness. So yeah, despite the new adventure that awaits them, despite all the…
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Be Still, Advent Day 3: Rest In Joy
Note: You can catch up on the Daily Advent Readings here. If you skip a day, no worries—I’ve made it easy to have everything there so you can catch up. Genesis 12:1-4 God called Abram to leave everything familiar and step into the unknown with the promise of blessing. Abram’s obedience was an act of trust and surrender. Hebrews 12:1 The Christian life is a race, and we are surrounded by a “great cloud of witnesses” cheering us on. We are called to lay aside every weight and run with perseverance. My Wild Imagination I have quite an imagination. Although I’m not one of those people who easily remember their…
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Be Still: A Biblical Advent Plan of Rest
A Biblical Advent Journey about God's Rest
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DIY Craft Bag: Thanksgiving Handprint Turkey Craft Kit
Create lasting memories this Thanksgiving with DIY handprint turkey craft kits! Perfect for kids, these fun, easy Thanksgiving craft kits can be used on the holiday or as take-home gifts. Follow our simple guide to make handprint turkeys with cornstarch clay and keep the kids entertained all season long.
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When Life Hands You a Patch of No’s, It Might Be Time to Dig for Seeds
My inbox is a pumpkin patch of rejection letters—big, bright, and way too plentiful. There’s the usual “we’ve chosen to move forward with other candidates,” the vaguely painful “we were impressed but decided to go in another direction,” and, of course, this soul-crushing one that hit me in the gut that came right out and said, “there were other candidates who were much better than you…” While I want to wallow in my own pity party for a solid minute, I can’t help but think of all the others—especially the breadwinners out there, the ones who are out there every day looking for work, for stability, for a way to…
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I Knew So Much When I Was 40
But, now, I’m my 50s, I am much humbler. I am in awe at how vast and wonderful the world is, and how there is not just one or even three ways to do something — but one million. This is a vast and wonderful world, and I have just learned to be a bit more open and sit with things for a while. I hope I can keep this same open attitude if and when I ever become a mother-in-law or a grandmother. Just to let them make their own way, and to assume that they know what is best for them — rather than become a meddlesome, tiresome…
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The Visit
Before I reached down to touch her, I said her name, so that she wouldn’t be frightened. As soon as she heard the first sounds of my voice, she looked toward me with eyes that could not see me and pulled me into her. Tears flowed as I held her. Sorrow over all that has gone wrong, the joy, and the deep, buried sadness that all the memories we have built together over these years are surely coming to an end. Sorrow, tempered with the joy that we are right now graced with this moment; a free pass for today. Stripped of so much, she has no barriers left, so…
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Transcendence Leaves Us With Just Enough
If you had told me 40 some years ago, when I was sitting in my cousin’s bedroom listening to the 45 of American Pie, that one night, I would drive home from a track meet with my son and his friends, who would turn on their music, and it would be American Pie — I doubt I would have believed you. But, so it was. The entire night pummeled me with a thick coat of nostalgia with every turn of my head. First, it was the crooked country roads that ribboned the car all the way to the school house, nestled in the hills, surrounded by trees. Much like the…
