This is the last picture I took of my mom from the last time I saw her last summer. She didn’t like smiling for photos since her stroke in 2007. When that happened we thought we might lose her, but th...  Read More

Think back: you're small. Young. Impressionable. You're at church. A place you find acceptance. Kindness. Creativity.  It's summer. It's hot. It's boring.And then, in the midst of your hot boredom, al...  Read More

C. S. Lewis wrote a book titled, Surprised by Joy. I must admit, I've never read it. Only excerpts. I'm sure it's great. I mean, it's Lewis, right? I know I should read it...but the thing is, I'm an o...  Read More

I'm a bit long-winded today, I admit. It's hard to pare down Salvation!It's Holy Week. My favorite holiday approaches.Now don't get me wrong: I love Christmas. It has gifts and cherished decorations a...  Read More

It may be true that I have lived in the Midwest for 29 years and survived winter without too many scars and it may be true that I prefer Winter clothes to Summer ones and it may be even true that I ki...  Read More

I don't like the word "eulogy". But like it or not, this is what this is. And if this is too long or feels too personal, please feel free to close this window now. But if you're interested, here it is...  Read More

One month ago, today, my mama stopped breathing.And never started up again.She moved from this world into eternity.She slipped her mortal coil.Why are all those phrases easier to say than the actual w...  Read More

I love Christmas. I love the surprises. I love the scents. I love the giving (and, I must admit, the getting). I love the decorations and the music and the events that are unique to the rest of the ye...  Read More

It's raining today and I can't help but love it! Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, days like this remind me of the good old PNW, where people don't bother to use umbrellas because they'll just lose...  Read More

Well it took me 25 years of hearing about Cuero, Texas, but I finally got there this past weekend, on a whirlwind road trip that brought me to lands I'd never seen but would like to see more in-depth ...  Read More

This summer, as I was learning my way around the church and looking into cupboards to get familiar with things, I came across an innocuous box in the Volunteer Workroom. This is a box which can be fou...  Read More

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, where winters look like spring in Minnesota (minus the massive surprise snowstorms) and autumn looks a lot like a Minnesota May. Except with falling leaves and no t...  Read More