The house was quiet. I was sitting on the couch, wrapped up in my favorite blanket, with a book on my lap and a scented candle flickering by the window. I took a sip of my tea, and thought: this is a sacred moment. But was it? Because on the heels of that thought came […]
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One day a few months ago, I had blocked out a two-hour chunk of time in which to write. My kids were at school and my husband was at work and the house was quiet and interruption-free. I sat at my writing desk with my notebook and favorite pen and waited for the words to […]
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Out of Place – April’s Story When Sarah and I first discussed my guest post for her “Out of Place” series back in April, I was excited to share my story because I basically have felt out of place most of my life. I got married relatively young, I live in a home with four […]
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One Sunday not too long ago, our family packed up our canopy tent and our beach chairs and headed out to the park on the bay. Loaded down with our picnic and our fishing gear, we set up near the water while our two boys zoomed around on their scooters. After lunch, my six year […]
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Last week, I joined the boys in the pond – a welcome relief from the heat and humidity. We splashed around, they climbed me like a jungle gym, they begged me to throw them into the water. When I got tired, I climbed onto the floating dock. I untied the yellow rope from the post […]
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Out of Place Series – Abby’s Story “You’ve changed in the short time I’ve known you.” My friend made the observation as we drove up the windy road through the mountains, chatting on our way home from a moms’ night out. I smiled because I knew she meant the statement in a positive way. After […]
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Out of Place Series – Christina’s Story It was a Thursday, only six weeks ago as I type this, but it feels more like several years have passed. Sitting in a teacher training seminar after school that day, I should have been all ears and fully invested. As a reading teacher, spending a few hours […]
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Earlier this month, I drove 95 miles to a speaking engagement up in Orange County. I plugged my phone into my car’s stereo system and listened to a podcast with the occasional interruption from Google Maps. Eighty miles into my road trip and I pressed the “OFF” button on the car radio. I needed space […]
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Growing up as a missionary kid in France had its perks, and the local bakery (or boulangerie) was one of them. In the front counter space of our nearest boulangerie were pastries of all sorts—elegant creations low on sugar and high on butter. Bins lining the wall boasted candy you could purchase by the gram—my […]
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I used to be able to watch the news. I could stomach the tragedies and injustices around the world with sorrow held out at arm’s length. But something happened on the day my first baby was born: my heart turned to glass. The nurse laid him against my chest, and his warm softness made me […]
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Sarah K. Butterfield 