“A few years ago, when my dad was still sick and this preacher came to pray with us at the hospital, he thanked God that our family was able to deal with hard situations with joy,” I said. “I remember thinking it was funny that he saw it that way because I’d never thought of … Continue reading Finding the Funny, Even in Funerals
I’ve been trying to branch out and read more non-fiction lately. In addition to the humor writings of Tina Fey and David Sedaris, and all the Joan Didion I can get my hands on (decidedly not humor writing), I’ve been reading the work of a lot of Christian essayists— Jen Hatmaker, Rachel Held Evans, Shauna … Continue reading Sitting in the Dark: A Devotion
When my anxiety gets out of control, or my mind is racing too much to concentrate on reading books, my default coping mechanism is binge-watching Gilmore Girls. I think it’s comforting to me because it’s the show I watched with my mom growing up, and we always sort of pictured our relationship as similar to … Continue reading Sanctuary
My mom used to love this song by Building 429, “Where I Belong.” One of the last videos we have of her leading worship at church was her singing that song. Helen Keller used to sing it on the praise team all the time, and Mom loved it. It’s about not fitting anywhere. It’s about … Continue reading Longing for Egypt
Verses: Mark 4:35-41 “Am I ever going to fit anywhere? Does the perfect place for me even exist?” These are questions that go through my mind more often than I can count. I think I am constantly a “square peg in a round hole”, as my preacher used to say. I’ve only really felt like … Continue reading Inside Storms, Outside Storms: A Devotion
On Christmas Eve, I read the most perfect thing. It was a daily meditation from a collection of Henri Nouwen’s writings, You Are the Beloved. It was called, “A Prayer.” I’m gonna be honest— in devotion books and daily readings I usually skip over the holidays because I expect them to be so cliche. Like … Continue reading 2021, Henri Nouwen’s Prayer, and God With Us
I’m a little bit of a hoarder. It’s not that I enjoy clutter, or that I want my house to be so crammed full of stuff that you have to turn sideways to walk the hall, or call the fire department for a rescue mission to get out of the bathroom, but I find comfort … Continue reading A Resurrection Story
I love Atticus. I discovered my first collection of Atticus poetry a couple of years ago at Target, and immediately ordered the other two collections. The poems aren’t long, most of them are just a few lines, but they are profound. In just a couple of sentences, he captures a depth of emotion that I … Continue reading Devotion: Atticus and Demons
In January, while I was on a little New Year’s weekend getaway with Other Half, I read a book that, in retrospect, I needed to read but maybe wish I hadn’t read it. The book was “Right People, Right Place, Right Time” by Jentezen Franklin. It’s about figuring out who you are, where you’re supposed … Continue reading Just Do the Next Thing
Photo by energepic.com on Pexels.com I got really angry with God this week. Spoiler alert: He didn’t smite me. He can take it. He already knows when we’re mad at him anyway, so I’ve always gone with the theory that it’s better to tell him so you’re not lying on top of being mad at … Continue reading Weekly Devotion: I Thought
Setting Up Stones 