“There was only—spring itself; the throb of it, the light restlessness, the vital essence of it everywhere: in the sky, in the swift clouds, in the pale sunshine, and in the warm, high wind—rising suddenly, sinking suddenly, impulsive and playful like a big puppy that pawed you and then lay down to be petted.” ~ … Continue reading Spring Cleaning, a Screen Door & Psalm 23
For Trent & Alli It takes seven months to build one, Google says,maybe eight.I suppose that would be true of a cut-n’-paste—one of those kits constructed just as soonas the paper models Trent used to glue togetherin one afternoon. If anyone would know, it’d be the two of you,wouldn’t it?That Rome wasn’t built in just … Continue reading How To Build a House
This piece was written for the April issue of the Lee Creek Baptist Church newsletter. Across from the church where I grew up, there was a cemetery on the corner. I remember passing it one Easter Sunday on our way to service--on one of those sharp, spring mornings when the light is strong. The tombstones … Continue reading My Flesh Will Dwell in Hope
"I say to the Lord, 'You are my Lord;I have no good apart from you...'The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;you hold my lot.The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance." ~ Psalm 16:2, 5-6 March goodness (and a little Madness): Sweet Sunday mornings at church Jared's grandmother's roommate at the nursing home who always announces him as "the preacher" A gentle rain and finishing Hannah Coulter Jared's new bird book Planting a line of potatoes and onions in the big garden Jared's parents out … Continue reading Seedlings, Siegfried, & Spring Mountain
Our wedding came just two days after spring began, when the trees were still a tangle of bones against the butter-gold forsythia down by Papa's pond. So Jared and I came into the gardening season as stragglers. By the time we returned from our honeymoon, the daffodils were already blooming along our fence, and the … Continue reading The First Year
This piece was written for the Lee Creek Baptist Church newsletter, Grace & Peace. On the week that my grandma was passing away last summer, there were members from my family’s church who stocked their fridge with meals---crockpot soups and breakfast casseroles. My sweet grandma had come home on hospice, and we knew it would … Continue reading Hands & Feet Hospitality
"I see grace groweth best in winter." ~ Samuel Rutherford Grace in February: Mom's spaghetti sauce recipe Shoveling the church parking lot with a few folks A long drive home at dusk, reflection of the sunset in the frozen creek beds and ponds Psalm 30 Ashley's braids It Is Well Playing a makeshift game of … Continue reading Winter Pansies & Rose Skies
My older sister and I grew up six years apart and about as similar as Meg and Jo March. She wore sweaters and scarves; I wore the same Mossy Oak hat several days in a row so I didn’t have to brush my hair. She kept her side of the closet neat; I didn’t know … Continue reading Meg & Jo
This piece was written for the February issue of our church newsletter, Grace & Peace. Each year, I get a little better at remembering to plant bulbs. I wait until the garden has fallen asleep and the late chrysanthemums have stopped blooming, those first few frosts biting at their heads and turning them gray. One … Continue reading Bear Fruit With Patience
It was my parents’ idea to drop me off for the day at Mrs. Rosalie’s duplex in town. I wanted to learn how to sew a pair of palazzo pants, and Mrs. Rosalie had worked as a seamstress most of her life. Instead of plopping me in front of a YouTube video, my dad dropped … Continue reading Mrs. Rosalie
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