The climax of a real story is always movinggrowing upgraduationtruelovemarriagebecoming a mothergetting the kids to bed so you can finally sit down for the eveninghitting send to the publisher after a decade of writinggetting the kitchen clean after breakfast In stories, there is one climax. And then there is the hope of sustained joy.There isn’t…
Tag: sacred
Journaling and the Bridge to Peace (Podcast Episode #6)
You can also listen and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes or Stitcher. Today we are talking about one of my favorite subjects–the transformative practice of keeping a journal. Journaling is the intersection of my creative and spiritual life, it is where all my good ideas start, it is where I come to make peace…
Broken Open-Hearted Love
Yesterday I learned that a dear friend is dying. There is no time to visit. No time to wrap up loose ends. This news just rips it all back open–that wound that I thought was nearly healed. The blow from my fall where I realized that death is actually a part of the human story….
Vision and Hindsight, A Tale of Two Lists
The year flew by. This morning I was sitting at the kitchen table, lamenting all the things that I meant to do last year–my open journal with the list I scribbled down, wide-eyed, like a child on her birthday, a January ago. Beautiful vision. And just like that, I blinked, and those twelve months are…
Living with Vision
I am up early this morning, before the little ones. In my closet-office (where I sit in a corner at a small desk, typing this under a rack of hanging clothes), I am armed with a steaming mug of Darjeeling tea, a couple of Cinnamon-Orange-Almond-Spelt muffins, and the promise of a glorious uninterrupted hour of…
Keeping Part of You Alive (Motherhood and Creative Vision)
Sometimes I look in the mirror and barely recognize myself. What happened to that person I used to be–the one who was bubbling over with good ideas and introduced to strangers with an impressive trail of accomplishments following her name? The person who had dreams and ambitions greater than getting every room in the house…
Slowing Down This Christmas Season (Creative Family Advent 2018)
Christmas is coming, and I am longing to anticipate it with more wonder and joy. With slowness and purpose, deep gratitude and a supernatural ability to see beyond the busyness into the sacred. I want us to savor these days as a family and make memories that will last well after the childhood years have…
The Sacred Everyday
This morning I woke up to a miracle. All of my children are still soundly sleeping in their beds, except for the baby, who came down early to snuggle. Her head is fuzzy and soft like a little duck. The house is dark. And quiet. There is no birdsong yet. The hum of thought in…
This Is Not Working
This is not working. I say that all the time. The baby won’t stay in her bed. This laundry pile stretches out infinitely from prehistoric past to all predictions of the future. We are outgrowing the kitchen table, which is the biggest table we can fit in the kitchen. Cat in the house. Math. Bedtime…
Being Home
I spend a lot of time at home. About 85% of my life happens behind the closed door of our brightly-colored, overflowing-with-laundry, two-bedroom house. My husband and I and our four children (ages 6 and under) share every room. Our bedroom is the hangout spot during the day, the living room is where we teach…