Whispers
Decades ago in a church, a brown-haired, only slightly-known matriarch whispered warnings in a hallway. Warnings whispered into young twenty-something ears. They went unheeded and life changed. Unfolded, dramatic and different; but still… good. God, in gentle kindness, wrought beauty. ——————————- In a second season of my life, the Creator leaned low and uttered…
Savoring Extended Family this Season
Bouncy European pop music reverberates up the stairs as my daughter practices her gymnastics floor routine for tomorrow’s competition. My senior son crams for finals, stopping upstairs for an ice cream malt and more pizza. Preschooler sleeps already in his tall bed, despite the noise, while my man plays games with two friends at the…
How to Save a Girl Over Breakfast
Eight hundred forks and knives clank ceramic plates in attempted quiet. Over scrambled eggs and pastries we meet police detectives, city council members, and prostitutes who were trafficked as minors. We hear stories from a Frogtown St. Paul girl who is propositioned on her way to and from school each day, waiting for the bus.…
When Toddlers Talk of Death
It’s twenty-three degrees and tiny snowflakes lodge in clumps of brittle grass and into corners of the deck. The email comes of Grandpa Joe’s death, and we all pause. Stomping up the downstairs’ kids in our odd intercom-manner, they tramp up the steps, and I read it aloud. They listen quietly, soberly, then smile in…
He Surprised Me
He surprised me. I wrote him a note, tracing across my journal page that I was eager to learn from him. “God, talk to me through your word today, please.” We were interrupted by supper and elections, but picked up our conversation this morning. Opening my journal, I saw my scrawled note to God and…
Shifting Up in Gears
“You’re teaching Daniel Bible verses!” she exclaimed in excitement. I grinned and shifted into fourth gear, the Saturn humming. On our way to the dentist, Morgan sat shotgun beside me, and Daniel recited “Psalm four eight, Psalm four eight” in the car-seat behind us. “Yeah, I’m trying to learn more verses, and I’m excited to…
Your Doorbell is Ringing!
Orange flames wobble behind ghoulish grins. My black ninja son has morphed into “a villain from the New Testament – you know, the ones that make the Good Samaritan necessary, Mom?” he grins mischievously, as he straps on two silver swords. John is heading to church with his dad. The youth group teens will work…
Splashes of Joy and Strength
Sun pours in through the windows. Grainy video footage of the sixties movements march across our TV screen. My teens sprawl long-legged across the living room floor, munching lunch in history class. In the back yard outside, white rags of surrender blow from my wire raspberry fences. A green dinosaur scrambles up on my lap,…
Sugar Cubes, Graveyards, and Secret Smiles (How to feel close in prayer?)
It was the kitchen that we snuck into to munch sugar cubes and stir up clandestine kool aid as church teens during my family’s ultra-health food phase. Surrounded by gravestones, a line of towering fir trees, and the best green apple tree you ever climbed up into with a book, the tiny blue and white…
Strong Hands & Wrestling Matches
I scrawl across torn notebook paper that I found in a camp cupboard. Five hundred teens and youth leaders race across a wooded campground, and I pause my conversations, my camp games, and my zip-lining to meet with God. He’s been calling me, and I needed to face the hard questions. Grabbing my ninth or…