When You Come Marchin’ Home

A True Story from Home Last February was gray and long, as the lean months before spring tend to be when winter feels old. But in my mailbox on Edgewood Road, there was something new: letters from Jared about what he hoped to plant in his garden that spring. He wrote of marigolds and tomatoes. … Continue reading When You Come Marchin’ Home

All the Books in Eldredge Public Library

A good writer is one who recognizes that there is always more to the story than they're capable of telling. The world is vast, and they will never come to the end of it. John wrote his gospel with this humbly in mind. He had undertaken the formidable task of writing about his Rabbi and … Continue reading All the Books in Eldredge Public Library

Victory Cry

There will probably never be an end to the stories pulled from the rubble of 9-11 --- stories of brave men who shouldered people in wheelchairs down a hundred flights of stairs, or ferrymen who swallowed smoke to sail crowds safely off the island, or a woman who kept her head and stayed on the … Continue reading Victory Cry

Late In Time

On Waiting, Hunting, & Courtship โ€œCome back and see us,โ€ she said. โ€œWeโ€™ll be here.โ€ And as we turned in our coats to go, she caught me once more: โ€œAnd enjoy yourselves. Have fun.โ€  This was just after sheโ€™d said she was bored of bingo, and couldnโ€™t they offer more activities for the long, dark … Continue reading Late In Time

Everywhere the River Goes

One of the main characters in Wendell Berryโ€™s novel, Jayber Crow, is the river itself, which moves through the story like Jayber does, picking things up as it goes, sometimes setting them down again. The river is always changing---sometimes fat and angry, โ€œas if the mountains had melted and were flowing to the sea.โ€ In … Continue reading Everywhere the River Goes

A Light in the Valley

Mavonโ€™s dad knew he was dying. He didnโ€™t want to leave them here on the farmโ€”Mavon, her brother, and mother, but he was ready to be with Jesus, and he reminded them from his deathbed:ย  โ€œWeโ€™ll just be separated for a short time, and soon, weโ€™ll be together again.โ€ There was something elseโ€” โ€œHe told … Continue reading A Light in the Valley

Quiet, Little, & Long

This article was written for and published on The Christian Manifesto blog. โ€œWhat do you want to do?โ€ people wanted to know as soon as I finished high school. It was a problem, because I was already doing what I wanted to do. I was writing. I was teaching in my local church. I was using my … Continue reading Quiet, Little, & Long