The real estate listing said, “possible teardown.” It was a 99-year-old cottage situated on a perfect little plot of heaven on the edge of a lake. But the house. The first time I visited, the amount of damage and neglect nearly took my breath away. I kept saying to Brian, Read more…
When I was a little girl, I knew Lent as a tradition that was largely practiced by my friends in the Catholic faith. In recent years, the tradition has become more and more popular among Protestant Evangelical Christians. Suddenly there is an avalanche of magazine articles, books, and blog posts Read more…
Sometimes I have just had it up to here with the Church. I’m not talking specifically about my home church (little “c”) but rather the big “C” Church. You know, the “Family of Believers,” “Christians.” Some days I feel that we’re more like the “Bride of Frankenstein” than the “Bride Read more…
This morning as I brought a letter out to my mailbox, I noticed my daffodils. The buds are just starting to peek through the green, promising explosions of yellow and gold in the coming weeks. I thought, “finally!” Later in the day I stood at my front door, baking in Read more…
A friend loaned this album to me, and I wasn’t sure how it was going to go. I’m a classic rock kind of girl, and I knew that this artist leaned towards quiet, acoustic music. The album was exactly that – quiet, somewhat acoustic (think Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” Read more…
Have you seen it? It’s yet another video gone viral, and it’s called “Facebook Parenting: for the troubled teen.” In the video, a father reads and responds to a letter that his 15-year-old daughter posted on Facebook. In the letter, she rants and swears and complains about her parents. In Read more…
This morning as I was running I listened to an interview with an author who did most of her research in Paris. The bulk of the medical archives she needed were located there, so she lived in Paris for months at a time while she was working. My brain stopped Read more…
First snow of the season on an autumn day. Bright sun shines down through white-tipped, green and gold mottled leaves. Snowy clumps and weighty drops are dislodged from heavily laden branches. They rain down in a steady shower of gleaming gemstones, creating multitudes of muted percussions as they hit the Read more…
I love being a mom. Many of you may be surprised to hear that I am the proud momma of about a dozen children. Well, sort of. I have two of my own, but I’m also an honorary momma for a whole gaggle of kids. It’s one of my favorite Read more…
I just overheard a conversation between my son and his friend from school, and I had to share. A little bit of background – they’re studying vocabulary because they have a quiz in English class tomorrow. Here’s the conversation: Friend: “Penance.” Colby: I don’t know. Friend: You don’t know what Read more…
