About four years ago, my son started a lawn business in the neighborhood. That was how we met one of our neighbors; we’ll call him Mr. B. Mr. B. is originally from Ukraine, Jewish and 101 years old. He ambles around slowly in a walker, hunched over, and wears a knit hat on his balding […]
Intentionality
When Sacrifice Yields Life: Leaning into One Another
I got something really big, really wrong this year. It came out of a sincere desire to make a difference and what I thought was an ingenious invention. I love to leverage the offerings of concerned citizens (donors, activists, front lines service providers) to meet needs and fill gaps. For years, I have galvanized our […]
Fighting for Community (or Fading Away)
I know what it must feel like to be a ghost. I am haunting the life I used to live but haven’t moved on yet, hanging out on the fringes of what I once called mine. I watch everyone around me go about their days as they always have but I am on the outside […]
What a Social Media Break Taught Me about Soul-Care
Sometimes I think about Jesus’ day to day life in the first century. I’m aware the Gospels do not record everything he ever did; there were mundane moments when he was probably overwhelmed by the heat of the desert sun or when he waved away flies that hovered over his meal, but those moments are […]
Restoration After Exile
“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! […]
The Welcome of What Is
There are many rhythms that carry me through daily life and into the presence of God. As a Midwesterner, the four seasons have become a perpetual joy and sometimes annoyance, but a cadence upon which my body, mind, and soul have come to rely. As an Anglican, the liturgy, Eucharist, and church calendar have carried […]
Why Sex is Worth the Work
In the course of my twenty-five year marriage, we’ve made good sex a priority. That doesn’t mean it’s been effortless. Anything in marriage that’s good takes effort and intentionality. In all regards, we’re still a work in progress. We had more than a few vulnerable conversations about our hopes for the marriage bed before saying […]
Dear Portia: I Had Sex…and then We Broke Up. Now What?
Dear Portia, I grew up in the heart of evangelical purity culture. When I was 13, my parents took me out to dinner and gave me a promise ring. Throughout high school and college, I heard boys would ask me to compromise my sexual standards. I was ready to tell them no, but no one ever […]
The Comfortable Lie
The lie is ingrained so deeply in my heart that I have to make conscious efforts to untangle my life from its clutches. This lie clutters my home, my very soul—the one that says comfort and contentment are one. Life in the Middle East was anything but comfortable, any sense of ease in life gone. […]
When the Word “Holidays” Stresses You Out
You know what my idea of a holiday is? A normal day. Laundry, hanging with my kids, and, by 9:30 pm, watching a murder mystery with my husband while I eat raisin bran. Even better: doing all that in slippers. Normal days are easy. On a normal day, I have a routine. I know what’s […]
Sometimes I Leave the Room
I can’t take it. I walk outside and text my husband to see when he would be back to pick me up. “Leaving now,” he writes. Soon, then. Thankfully. I don’t want to feel this way, like I have to leave a room when good, well-meaning people talk about people in poverty. I don’t want […]
Crossing the Skies and Seas
What would you give up to finally have running water in your house? Would you give up your spring break? Would you fly into a winter storm and ride an open boat on the ocean in 8 degrees holding your pregnant belly and hugging your three small children, cinching them close to keep from freezing? […]
Space to Breathe
I hear it. My soul, breathing. Nestled in a rocker that’s held its place on the wide, teal-painted porch chipped with life and history, it sighs as I stare at a carpet of rich greenery, forest tips of trees leading to the cut of Smoky Mountains. Blue silhouettes brush the sky drifting lightly pastel pink […]
Why I Live in a Yurt, Off the Grid, in Idaho; Or: The Empty Space
Everything that ever needed to happen to me happened by accident. I don’t know if this is just my personality. Or if it is a deep truth that penetrates the whole world. But in my experience, intentional living isn’t particularly intentional. It’s been almost five years since my husband and I closed on a little […]
Dreaming Big, Living Small
I am a dreamer, and I dream big. I’ve always wanted to live a dramatic story, to Do Something Big For God! Make an impact! Change the World! Build the Kingdom!!! – and other slogans that require multiple exclamation marks at the end. So many are writing these days about the finding joy in the […]
It’s Not Too Late for Your Dreams
I awoke suddenly from a deep sleep, memories of a dream flooding over me with waves of hope and excitement. I grabbed my pen and journal and started to write. You see, I had dreamed about birds—my favorite creatures. In the dream, I saw a bunch of beautiful, little parakeets. But something was wrong with […]
Cleaning Out the Clutter in My Soul
I have a secret addiction. It started out as this little thing. Everyone else swears it is harmless, even helpful. But its influence grew stronger in my life. It became indispensable . It’s my smartphone and I want to throw it out the window! I was pretty late to the whole world of being connected […]
- 3 of 3
- « Previous
- 1
- 2
- 3