last things

last things

I am surprised my daughter didn’t think about what I assumed was obvious. She lifts a clean plate from the dishwasher, places it on top of the stack on the kitchen counter; among cans of pumpkin and a warm crock pot simmering with pulled pork for dinner. Holding a...
when hope comes with an ultimatum

when hope comes with an ultimatum

I remember 1987 as the year of desperation. It was also the year I graduated from college. Working part-time as a hostess in a restaurant to pay for tuition, I realized I was employed by the primary industry keeping the economy alive in Tulsa, Oklahoma during a severe...
creating room for impulse

creating room for impulse

I hadn’t left the house in three days. My kids morphed into independence overnight and what I was cooking for dinner became the highlight of my week. When writing turned into a meaningless task, I knew I was in trouble. In Julia Cameron’s words I had “overfished (my)...
why bloggers need your feedback

why bloggers need your feedback

I decided to start blogging after sitting through a frustrating board meeting. After hours of listening to the founding member of a new ministry share ideas that seemed incomprehensibly irrelevant, it ignited a fire inside me. I realized that if a leader doesn’t care...
being free isn’t just a holiday

being free isn’t just a holiday

A thread unravels from the edges of her old shirt in the dryer and winds tightly around the cuff of a stray sock, collecting bits of lint like a magnet. Cupping it in her hands, she decides it looks more like a ball of yarn she accidentally threw in the dryer than a...