Lord, Make Me a Cattle Prod
Maybe I should just quit.
Lately these words keep turning in my mind like a merry-go-round pushed by the latest Christian controversy. Today they are forced to the forefront by the news of James Macdonald’s firing and the wreckage of lives hurt from his seedy underbelly. Tomorrow it might be something else. Since submitting my pen (or maybe my fingers?) to write in small ways for the broader church I have found myself plagued by this thought.
Watching the rise and fall of celebrities within the Christian writing and preaching world, I’ve become more convinced we need a lot more nobodies than a lot of big somebodies. The small and the unseen seems better than the platforms for the masses. Surely a written note of encouragement to a sister nearby is more lasting than the fleeting swipes of the finger. Do my own words contribute to the problem?
I Felt the Sun Today
Brisk wind arrives outside my window
Each gust plucks another leaf from the familiar
Put away what is gone;
Prepare for the new
The chill of winter stretches on…
When the Pain Lingers
I don’t do well with doctors. Or maybe I do too well for them. The past sixteen years have been peppered with waiting rooms, tests, and questions that don’t come with simple answers. Time may have healed the cuts that once gaped open, but their scars affect much more than the color of my skin.
A few weeks ago I visited a podiatrist for a simple outpatient procedure. Once the pain from the numbing needle subsided- alone in the room with my husband- I began to panic. I felt my breath quicken and my heart beat faster. The pain of trauma from years ago spilled from my eyes as I looked at my husband. I flashed back to images of hospital beds, IVs, and memories I never asked for.
Life in the Hands
Fingernails speckled in neon pink move up and down as my daughter shapes her masterpiece. Her fingers push and pull against the lumps of dough on the table in front of her. Later in the day she’ll use those same hands to grasp a crayon and turn the simple tubes of wax...
What I learned from TGCW18
This past weekend thousands of women joined together- some boarding airplanes, others squeezing next to friends in the car and making the long drive to the Indianapolis Convention Center. We got our lanyards, studied our maps, took silly photos, and worked hard to...
Is the Bible Good for Women? -Review
I was able to listen to this book on audio through Hoopla, and as with all my audio books, I wished I had a copy of it so I could highlight it up. Wendy takes on some of the seemingly most difficult passages for women from the Old and New Testaments. I grew up...
No, the Bible is Not Pixie Dust
There was crying. A lot of crying. Fights over toys, and a toddler climbing on top of everything. After an extended time of instruction for one child, I came out to the living room to discover the lovely surprise of dog throw up on the carpet. My emotions rose as the...
The Lesser Known Parenting Jobs
We all know there are many jobs you take on as a parent. There is the usual nurse, cook, chauffeur or diaper changer to name a few. Though in the short five years of navigating my many positions, I found a few I didn't see coming: Hair/Fuzz Remover One of my most...
On Turning 30
On the eve of my 30th birthday, I hope you permit me to reminisce a little. Tonight the clock will turn over to 12:00 AM- Wednesday will greet Thursday, and not much will seem changed. As silly as it seems to favor birthdays ending in 0 over any other birth year- I...
My 2017 Book Reviews
As we get ready to ring in 2018 it is also the time for the barrage of end of year book lists. This year I thought I'd add my hat into the ring. I don't share these in any order of ranking, and they aren't even necessarily my favorites because they are just all the...