On a walk last month, I spotted a beautiful scene: purple morning glories in bright bloom framing a rounded doorway. It stopped me mid-stride and I slowed to look more closely and take a picture. The blooming archway seemed magical to me, like it would lead to some other fairy world awash with more delights. […]
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A small group of ladies at my church have been meeting once a week to read and discuss Learning to Walk in the Dark, by Barbara Brown Taylor. Every Thursday evening we hop on a zoom call and reflect upon God, and the role of light and darkness in our lives. Carolyn suggested we meet […]
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Whale-watching tours are big business in our area of southern California. I’ve never taken one but I know the best time to go is during the winter months. Visitors from out of state will shell out fifty bucks a ticket for a chance to see these magnificent creatures in the wild. Even in the winter, […]
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We stood before the painting, side by side, admiring the larger-than-life flowers in a vase on the stool. My husband and I were on a day date while our kids were in school; usually we would grab a bite to eat between errands on a free day, but we were feeling fancy. Other museum guests […]
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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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My seven-year-old looked adorable in his basketball jersey. It hung down way past his waist, but he didn’t care. He was too excited for his first day of the basketball program through our YMCA: skills assessment day. He was one of the most enthusiastic participants on the gym floor, and we cheered him on from […]
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Reading is my favorite hobby, and this year I read over 80 titles! Narrowing down my favorite reads was an agonizing process, but I’d love to share my favorites with you here. I used the following categories to make it simpler: top fiction, best of young adult (YA), best of memoir, best Christian nonfiction, most […]
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For many of us, fall ushers in a new kind of busy. We are finding our new rhythms for the school year. Extracurricular activities are starting up again. Seasonal holiday activities are on our minds. Home and garden projects demand our attention. And all of it crowds around our regular, daily to-do’s. We might miss […]
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This summer, my husband scoped out his family’s farm in Michigan for interesting rocks. Combing through the fields and woods on his family’s land, he discovered several rocks of interest, carting them up to the house in a wheelbarrow. I’m not sure how he sees the potential in these drab stones. I look over the […]
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Sarah K. Butterfield 