Daily writing promptIf humans had taglines, what would yours be?View all responses Tag-line on a T-Shirt Plymouth, 1977, and a Porch Where Truth Took Root Basketball ruled our little corner of Plymouth. Coach Frank Schade had us dreaming we could slam-dunk our way to glory if we boxed out hard enough. Tim Halstead didn’t need... Continue Reading →
The Swing I Never Sat In (And the Fear That Still Knows My Name)
Daily writing promptWhat fears have you overcome and how?View all responses An Empty Seat, a Full Heart, and a Second Chance to Listen The chair waited—still, empty, listening for the voice that never came. Some fears come loud, like a slammed door or a marching band you didn’t invite.Others just show up with their own... Continue Reading →
Three Times I Said the Name
A story to remind myself. This is a true account from a summer morning in 1983 or maybe ’84, told first as it happened, then as a mystic might sing it. It’s not here to argue or persuade. It’s here to mark a moment when the unseen pressed close, and a name carried me through.... Continue Reading →
The Day the Mud Swallowed My Sisters (And I Learned to See)
Feel the thaw. Sense the trap. It starts with a thaw—a late-winter lie that crusts the snow and turns the ground to soup. Have you ever watched someone you love step into a moment that looked safe—only to sink? In our country home, a comma between cornfield and farm, the sledding hill called. Long. Steep.... Continue Reading →
When the Lion Looked Back: On Broken Crayons, Falcon Eyes, and the Need to Be Seen
What does it mean to be truly seen? We don’t outgrow the need to be seen.We just get better at pretending we don’t need it. But sometimes a story—or a line from a stranger’s blog—uncovers something buried.Something like a boy, a crayon, and a lion no one believed he drew. The Lion I was four.... Continue Reading →
The Day I Tried to Stop the Wind: What Winter Taught Me. . .
About Power, Presence, and Paying Attention How do you feel about cold weather? Come closer. Snow-wrapped trees, still and listening. Feel the sting of a winter that doesn’t ask permission. In Mapleton, cold wasn’t just weather—it was a presence. A character. A kind of teacher.It piled snow into drifts taller than a boy and dared... Continue Reading →
Legacy in the Quiet Things
Daily writing promptWhat is the legacy you want to leave behind?View all responses I used to think legacy meant a plaque. You know—a shiny nameplate, maybe a hallway photo where I don't look like I just sneezed. Something official. Something framed. But after 40 years of parenting, teaching, loving, failing, forgiving, and scribbling in the... Continue Reading →
The Scar Is the Seed: My Career Plan (and the Fruit I Cannot Eat)
What is your career plan? Turning wounds into wisdom, and work into worship. We carry more than stories—we carry what was planted in pain, grown in silence, and offered in love. I’ve lived more years than I likely have left.That’s not gloomy. It’s clarifying. This isn’t a midlife crisis. It’s a mid-faith anchoring. I’m not... Continue Reading →
I Was.
What was the last live performance you saw? The Mindful Line – Mark Making at MOWA Tables were covered in crisp white paper. Crayons, pastels, sticks, and smooth stones waited quietly. And then—lines began.The Mindful Line was a 60-minute guided experience held at the Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA), blending story, color, and motion to... Continue Reading →
The One Quote That Ended the Conversation
Daily writing promptDo you have a quote you live your life by or think of often?View all responses A Vision of Silence, Sandals, and Something Greater I collect quotes like rainwater.Some sink in. Some evaporate. Kierkegaard when I’m restless.Rumi when I’m cracked open.Lao Tzu when I need to breathe.Jesus—when I need to be. But I’ve... Continue Reading →