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When Words Cut and Slash

Photo Credit: Andrew Blight, Creative Commons, cc license Black, white, blue and cream hangers twist jumbled on the couch. Metal and plastic angles dig and coil, arching uselessly; sharp ends jabbing, blunt sides hiding, nestling under layers; and the hangers are ensnared. He runs and hides, giggling maniacally, shoving dryer-hot clothes into wrinkled piles, and…

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Dance Parties in the Sunset & Life’s Questions at the End of Day

Photo Credit: Sarah MacMillan, Creative Commons, cc license A bird chirrups in long unfamiliar calls outside and we clamber to discover what it is. Kneeling on the couch, we peer out the living room window, searching for a cardinal or robin, and struggling to remember which bird sounds like this. Our ornithology science class seems…

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Four Thousand-Year Old Code Can Tell Us if We’ve Fully Arrived

Photo Credit: Son Marki, Creative Commons, cc In the pages, brave heroine Nancy Drew tapped out a Morse code message for her friends over the phone, all while talking inanely about trivial matters. The tip-tapping of her pencil on the phone receiver gave the appearance of distraction or nervousness, until studied closer. Suddenly her erratic…

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This Transforms How I See Easter

 Can you picture them? Photo Credit: JD Lasica, Creative Commons, cc Sweet little six year old Middle Eastern boys pouring down the cobbled stone Roman streets of a remote occupied town. Young Jewish boys in Jesus’ time all attended Bet Sefer at the local synagogue. Six to ten years old attended this Bet Sefer, which…

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What You Didn’t Know You Knew

(Photo Credit: Juan Pablo Gonzales, Creative Commons, cc license) Six white crocuses bend and sway in the strong April breeze. We shiver and pull on sweatshirts inside the house, but can’t bear to shut the windows on this sixty-degrees-in-the-sun-day. Spring has invaded Minnesota and pasty Minnesotans everywhere throw windows wide, strap on sandals, and pull…

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Spies, Mercenaries, and You and I

Photo Credit: Tim Pierce, Creative Commons, cc My husband and I have been watching spy shows lately. Explosions ricochet and cars burst into flame while two or three trained personnel rescue children from kidnappers or free communities from violent drug cartels. And no matter the crisis, the loyal friendship between these heroes never ceases to…

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How God Made a Daughter

 She waylays him with a hug. “Dad, when do you have to leave tonight?” At the news that worship practice had been called off, she dances excitedly beside him, jumping, squealing and persuading him with her smiles. “Want to watch a show with me?” He grins, groans, and affectionately agrees. Minutes later, they are at…

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What Your Names Say About You

Both photo credits to Stephanie Conrad, Flickr. Thank you for the treat of these photos! It was the summer of a deep golden tan from hours at the blue chipped tile pool. A hundred years earlier, a homesick Brit had crafted a stone castle in America that perfectly matched his homeland. There was a tall…

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Standing Up My Turkish Date

This is it, the moment I’ve been excited about all day. Dinner is cleared away, homeschooling is in a lull, and my family is occupied. I’ve thought about him, talked about him, and glanced at him throughout the day, but our times were always brief. To set a relaxed tone, I boil water in my…

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When Spring and Life Falter

It’s not that they lied. It’s just that we see the calendar’s blatant announcement of spring and then step curiously outside to shiver in a chilly thirteen degrees. Snow flurries fly diagonally to the right, falling softly for hours. Crystal diadems stack an inch high. An hour later, the snow stops. Blue skies and sunshine…

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