Our hands are busy. I know that. I get it. But we’ve all got time. Time to stop. Time to act. Time to return. We’ve all got today. Time to remember. And time to see what is present. I know it often feels like we don’t know what we can do. Little us. Especially us moms. Our hands. Our times. Our lives. Spoken for. But it is in THAT that.. Read More
From exploring Corbin, KY (Cumberland Falls) to driving through the Appalachians in TN (Cherokee, Pisgah, and Great Smoky Mountains National Forests) to NC to exploring the wonder of the OCEAN on the Atlantic coast of South Carolina to exploring Charlotte, NC “the Queen City” (that WOW reminded me of Overland Park, KS) to a quick overnight in Knoxville, TN so that we could go exploring Big South Fork National River.. Read More
I’m sitting at the chiropractor’s office and it’s the stillest I’ve been all day since that one minute of quiet wakefulness this morning when I made the regrettable decision of turning my alarm off. Instead, I chose the always reliable yet not-quite-calm second alarm, aka “the children”. Today’s ring tone sounded like this, “Mama! We can’t find Danny!”. Yep, from horizontal to vertical and moving before they could say that.. Read More
Yeah, it’s true. I laughed out my nose when the three year old lunged across the table to steal food from his older brother’s plate deft like a praying mantis after it’s cricket. Seriously—the way he moved was impressive and spontaneous and I could NOT help it. Yeah, it’s true, I sighed at first when: 8 year old: “mommy.” me: “just a minute, I’m in the middle of a.. Read More
All I gotta do is share publicly about my prayer life to be driven to my knees. All I gotta do is talk about my kids’ relationships with each other to begin to feel desparate that they’ll never talk to each other once grown. All I gotta do is try and I’ll be sure to face a challenge. It’d be easier not to but, “You must do the thing you.. Read More
“The essence of a thing is always elusive, hidden. The dream of art and prayer is to come nearer, even to slip through to dwell for awhile…” ~ John O’Donohue, Beauty the Invisible Embrace
It would be too simple to say or think that all I do as a parent to nurture my children through the wilderness of sibling relations is head for the woods. Yet it is a very powerful, meaning filled way I can put feet on my prayers. And it’s not just for the kids, it’s for me too. Maybe me most of all? It’s at that mind numbing point (I.. Read More
In my last post, I began with speaking about the complicated-ness of sibling relationships. So what’s wonder got to do with overcoming that? Brother/sister-hood, our children’s and our own, it’s heavy with glory—a target of great worth. I’m trying lately to remember Beauty in the quiet places I can steal away. I know that the stories of wonder planted deep into our world, and deep within us, can emerge. I.. Read More
Brothers. Sisters. Siblings. Relationships It’s gotten to be a sticky concept in many of our families. As I watch our own tribe grow, I see all the opportunities brother/sister hood has—to go bad. It’s the little things, the hurts that don’t get reconciled, or even noticed. It’s the challenge of knowing the worst parts of someone, or even worse than that—being known. It takes brave souls to live in that.. Read More
Being authentic doesn’t mean just being real about the struggle, it’s seeing beyond the struggle to what is most real. Welcome to Wednesday—I’m sure it’s already been a big week for us all. Feeling exhausted before the day even began, here’s my heart prayer this morning: I desperately want to live in the awareness of the now and the beautiful strength You can bring to it. I don’t want to.. Read More