Is there an age or year of your life you would re-live? A reflection on the year I would not re-live, but still return to. I would not step back into any year.Not one. But sometimes a year steps back into you. 1981 did that to me—by sliding quietly out of a manila folder in... Continue Reading →
Burn What You’re Given.
Daily writing promptDo you need time?View all responses Do I Need Time? Only long enough to love what’s before me. I. The Stone That Laughs A century-old wink for the living. There’s a cemetery near our house where the stones tilt as if listening.Most are polished rectangles that do their quiet work—names, dates, a verse... Continue Reading →
The Art of Being Unfinished
Daily writing promptWhat historical event fascinates you the most?View all responses What Does It Mean to Be a Kid at Heart? (Chaos, Color, Calm, Calling) Maybe it begins in what we call chaos.We only call it that because we do not yet see the order.The brush does not ask for permission; it just moves. Chaos... Continue Reading →
The Pink Shirt Gospel: What I’m Learning to Be Proud Of
Daily writing promptWhat are you most proud of in your life?View all responses Reflections on mercy, soil, and the slow work of grace. (A nod to my WordPress neighbor Ulrich, whose good question about mercy and justice stirred this reflection. Some neighbors plant flowers; others plant questions that keep blooming long after the conversation ends.)... Continue Reading →
Fences, Neighbors, and the Space Between
Daily writing promptWhat makes a good neighbor?View all responses What makes a good neighbor when the world has no borders left? Jesus was asked, “Who is my neighbor?”He answered with a story that crossed every line — a Samaritan binding wounds while the religious walked by.Neighborliness, it seems, is not about location. It is about... Continue Reading →
The Soil That Saves Us
Daily writing promptWhat's something you would attempt if you were guaranteed not to fail.View all responses On Failure, Faith, and the God Who Gardens Our Losses The question sounds so clean, so full of promise:What would you attempt if you were guaranteed not to fail? It rolls off the tongue like courage, like freedom.But turn... Continue Reading →
The Hinges We Almost Miss
What details of your life could you pay more attention to? Three moments, caught before they slipped away — reminders that love and wonder often whisper, not shout.Life moves like weather — quick, familiar, and somehow always surprising.Most days we stand in its wind, meaning to notice, but not quite seeing.Then a photograph, a sound,... Continue Reading →
When the Squeeze Comes
Daily writing promptWhat would you do if you lost all your possessions?View all responses On Losing Grip, Finding What’s Left, and the Mess That Spills Out Once, not so long ago, I was poor enough that homelessness felt like it was pacing my porch. Creditors pounded as if they owned the hinges. Payday loans—devil’s candy—offered... Continue Reading →
Out of Place, Everywhere But Here
Daily writing promptTell us about a time when you felt out of place.View all responses On meat, potatoes, and the voices that keep me moving toward the river The Fork at the Table The scholarship dinner was a stage dressed as a meal. White linen stretched taut. Polished forks winked in the lights. My sister... Continue Reading →
The Summer I Lost My Taste for Cherries
Daily writing promptIn what ways does hard work make you feel fulfilled?View all responses Finding Work That Feeds the Soul One summer in college, I worked three jobs to pay tuition. First: painting classrooms and waxing floors at the local high school, the smell of chemicals in my lungs, the hum of buffers rattling my... Continue Reading →