Daily Thoughts
Listen for the Voices
Sometimes, as a neurodivergent person, I can become fixated on a thing (some may say obsessed with, and I’d be okay with that because, well, it’s accurate). Right now, my fixation is the Camino de Santiago and the sacred journey it provides those who choose to hike...
Learning vs. Schooling
It’s that time of year, the time of year when school-aged kids of all ages anticipate the countdown to freedom and echoes of the refrain of that popular childhood song ring out: No more pencils / no more books / no more teachers’ dirty looks / when the teacher rings...
Lend Me Your Ear
When I was in high school, I remember having to memorize certain things for my English class, at least two of them being lengthy passages from the Bard himself, William Shakespeare. If pressed, there is no way I could recite them now. That being said, I do recall the...
Life’s Sacred Moments
When our girls were babies, we spent a good amount of time getting them to sleep (neither were great sleepers when they were little), and maybe that’s why we also spent a good amount of time watching them as they slept. Sure, there were the typical parent-related...
The Lives We Tend
Like many folks, our family bought pumpkins last October as part of our fall tradition. We typically buy smaller ones that we can use inside on a tabletop or, in the case of our oldest teen, on a bookshelf in her room (alongside her 80s musician Funko Pop collection)....
Among Us
Many, many years ago, when I had first graduated from college, I was somewhere in New England spending time with my best friend at the time and we decided to play a round of mini golf. In the moment, it seemed like a lovely way to spend a summer day; in retrospect,...
Power On
As I moved through my day, I was seeking to step back into my daily rhythm and routine, especially after staying up for a good portion of the night before as part of a youth lock-in. I was fortunate enough to get home and drop into bed by 5 a.m., so I got a bit more...
Always Connected
Tonight, I volunteered to help with a lock-in for the youth group at the church where my husband is the traditional music director. As an appointed overnight volunteer, I was the second grown up who agreed to stay up all night to keep an eye on all things youth- and...
Locked In to the New
I recently finished a book by singer-songwriter Andrew Peterson that caused me to laugh out loud when he talked about his experience playing at a youth group lock-in, saying lock-ins essentially are everything that is wrong with the world. Why did this make me laugh?...