Something has felt “off” in my writing life for over a year now. It took me a few months to discern the exact problem and a few months more to experiment with solutions. But today I’m ready to try something drastic and walk away from Instagram indefinitely. My writing is a ministry and a calling, […]
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We stand at the beginning of a brand new year, or a new season, or a new month, or a new day, and time stretches before us, waiting to be filled. And we have a pile of blocks beside us, ready to build something beautiful with the time we’ve been given. Some of the blocks […]
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I step outside in the early morning hours, our eager dog by my side. We walk through grass glistening with dew past the barn and pasture where the horses are already grazing. There’s a bit of a chill to the air; the hay field ripples with the breeze. The sun’s first rays illuminate the mist […]
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My life-changing phone call wasn’t a diagnosis, and it wasn’t a death. It was a woman who dutifully informed me that my program of study had run out of funding and would be closing immediately. “But…what am I supposed to do now?” I blubbered, only a year away from college graduation. “You can schedule an […]
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My word of the year in 2020 was “savor.” It made sense in January, in my rushed and busy-doing-good life to slow down enough to savor the small, good things of my day. And then March happened and the world shut down. All four of us were sick and we lounged around the house, resting, […]
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One of my favorite parts of this season is waking up before anyone else, and coming downstairs to be greeted by the glow of the Christmas tree. I sit across from it in my darkened living room and admire the halo of colored lights as I sip my coffee. The morning is new. The day […]
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A Guest Post by Emily Sue Allen I show up at the sink to an insurmountable pile of dishes. Nothing is scraped. Nothing is sorted. My frustratingly miniscule counter space is overrun with remnants of our previous two meals—room-temp food, wadded up napkins between plates, stray silverware, and pans that need to be soaked. I […]
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My six year old son recently stumbled upon a miniature notebook. He was delighted to discover that it was brand new, and even more thrilled when I told him he could keep it. He grabbed a red marker and wrote “Henry” on the front. “What are you going to use it for?” I asked him, […]
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My husband, like many men, is not a big fan of shopping. You would never find him at the mall, or wandering into boutique stores in touristy locations. The appeal of walking and talking and browsing the aisles looking at pretty things is completely lost on him. Except if it’s Costco. He loves walking down […]
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Coming back to our condo in San Diego after three months spent on my husband’s family farm in Michigan was jarring. For a few days, I could only see all the ways in which our house wasn’t measuring up to my ideals. No yard. Shared walls. Very little natural light in the main living area. […]
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Sarah K. Butterfield 