Kneel
She kneels down. Down on her knees she goes to the floor. And what she sees and smells, and what she does, all alone here? This petite woman-child daughter of mine, now 22, this one who colors Disney princess pages in her spare time—she gives thanks for this job. She works for her Lord and […]
Bear and Fish, Fear and Trust
The bush plane descends and the pilot directs our attention to the ground through the right windows. “Those black dots down there are bears,” Glen tells the three of us traveling to Geographic Harbor, a remote spot on the coast of Alaska. We learn that people come from all around the globe to this exact […]
Dogs + Kings + Sheep = People
Oh that stupid dog! There she goes again, running off and rolling in something dead. And then she jumps in the pond full of scum and drinks and comes out green. What WAS she thinking! Well, I’m sure she was thinking . . . This is GREAT! I’m free to roam wherever I want, to […]
Get Real, Get God
So how was YOUR weekend? Care to be real? I’d certainly love to hear someone in cyberspace admit if theirs was an emotional disaster like mine! Misery loves company. But I don’t want to start my week miserably so I’m looking for voices who speak beyond miserable, for eyes that see beyond failure and giving […]
Relatively Speaking
There are still five baby birds flying back and forth between front porch rail and nest glued to the corner, right above the swing, with bird spit and heaven knows what else. It’s just plain gross-looking. But it works—for them. And my husband steps out yesterday, coffee mug in hand, being bombarded by too many […]
Insides and Outsides
My mother always told me not to judge a book by its cover. Often pretty outsides cover not-so-pretty insides and vice versa. Like this book here I found on the top shelf of our loft library . . . From the outside, it looks like a beat up dictionary or something, not inviting. But I […]
Home: A Pigeon Peace
So I’m in the home stretch, stretching for home. Since I was sixteen, I’ve been told I should write a book by many people in many places. Not that I’ve finished, but I’ve begun—what I don’t know—and I’m about to complete my first goal given by my soon-to-be-mentor for a week in Alaska. I can […]
Royalty
When I reminisce on our adoption story I have written so far, I am concerned about where the story ended because it seems bleak as I reread. Starting with elation, going through tribulation, experiencing triumph, falling into depression—these were real and strong emotional experiences in my life. As a passionate person, I don’t experience much […]
A New Day, A New Heart
I’m thankful for the truth—God’s promise in His word . . . Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 Sometimes life pounds us straight into the ground where at every turn there is challenge. I can […]
The Muck and the Green
So yesterday’s post sent me spinning, whirling around like the cottonwood white I dodged while on my country road walk. “Nobody wants to hear from you,” came haunting from old mother-places left long ago. But when a new voice, the One who calls and your heart hears loud and clear what your ears can’t . […]
Turtles and Grapes
Rome wasn’t built in a day, the saying goes. Big accomplishments always start small. But sometimes it’s hard to accept my smallness when I’ve got my eyes on others’ bigness. And it’s easy to stop taking steps forward when we don’t know exactly where we’re going. Growth hurts. Is it worth the pain? I’m struggling […]
Mountain Tops
Sometimes when one travels afar and ascends slopes to view summits, clouds cover. Sometimes when we dig in and climb hard, we still can’t see the heights. We end up short and feel cheated—defeated. Driving two and a half hours to the base of Mt. Rainier, an active volcano standing majestic at 14, 410 feet […]