Art or Science?

Is it an art or a science? Does it need to be one or the other? More one than the other? more true? more useful? more real? Are they competing for our allegiance? our vote? our support? No! They are a meal best served together. A complement, one to the other. They taste better together. […]

Collective Joy

They’re out. All twelve boys and their soccer coach are free. What is it about that news sends me to the verge of tears? I’m a soccer coach. I have taken my teams on excursions as team building opportunities. None of these have gone badly wrong, but they could have. I’m a parent. I cannot possibly […]

Got that feeling in my body*

Ugly words hurt.Clashing colors make me nauseous.Stripes with plaid make me dizzy. Grim news turns my stomachLoss twists my heart.A word stabsA look penetratesCriticism batters. Thoughts and experiences are, for me, physical.I quite literally feel your pain. Yet,Accept me and my heart bursts!Kindness enfoldsCaring caressesEyes that listen warm meEars that see startle me. My body […]

First we must stand

Walking, it’s as natural as breathing. Put one foot in front of the other. Move it on out. It wasn’t always this way. Once, we couldn’t hold our head up, couldn’t roll over couldn’t sit without toppling couldn’t rock on all fours could not even crawl. Imagine, there was a time when we were stuck in […]

What if our lives came with an owner’s manual?

If automobiles come with an owner’s manual, surely there must be one for me. No responsible manufacturer would slap a human together without an owner’s manual. Let’s see. Here’s what’s listed in the Quick Reference for my Ford Escape. Instrument panel/vehicle display … For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. […]

What do I do with my “me too”? One Woman’s Manifesto

Me too…I am seeing it on Facebook posts, in comments and in conversation far and wide. I am not sure where it came from, but it’s picking up steam. Why? Because it’s the skeleton in every woman’s closet, the elephant in every room. We’ve carried it cautiously, buried it fastidiously, and borne it boldly until […]

A functional faith: the Struggle is Real

I want a functional faith — not just a faith of works, but a faith that works. a faith that works out, a faith that works for, a faith that functions. I want a faith that does, while I am doing other things, faithfully. a faith that works its way into my day, along my […]

Does What I Do Really Matter?

For every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction. So Newton says. That’s not to say that whatever you do, they’ll do it back to you; or whatever you give, they’ll give it back to you. No, good doesn’t necessarily beget good, it does good in the do-er. Some call it grace; some call it […]

Activism or Love in Action?

I was an activist way before is was trendy. Today, an activist is: “One who takes vigorous action or pursues involvement as a means of achieving political or other goals, sometimes by demonstrations, protests, etc.” If you are taking action toward your cause or your goals, you’re an “activist.” It seems like everyone in America […]

Into the Desert

The sea has parted forming a wall of water on both sides and a commanding voice booms, “You may paaasss.” That’s how I have always pictured the scene as the ancient Israelites marched, en mass, through the red sea on their way out of Egypt. I imagine Moses at the helm, smiling triumphantly, exuberantly and perhaps […]