Dad

  • Name

    Name

    “Bye, Kristen!” I called to the beautiful, curly-haired Mom I had met a few weeks before at church. We had been in similar circles over the years, but had not officially been introduced until that Sunday. When I extended my hand and told her my name, Kristen laughed and replied, “Everyone knows who you are.”…

  • Float

    Float

    I have a new spiritual discipline, and it is called “Real Housewives of NYC.” I’ve been spending a bit more time with Bethenny and the girls, as well as the cast of “Nobodies”, and Vivian Howard, from “A Chef’s Life.” Time spent in front of the television has been a semi-purposeful spiritual practice for me…

  • Word

    Did you ever hear something come out of someone’s mouth that rang so true that it slowed time, just a little? It could be truth, or wisdom, or encouragement, but when it hits you, you know it’s something you needed like a missing puzzle piece in the very depths of you and the only response…

  • Settled

    I was sitting on a bench trying to make out a song I heard coming from a truck across a parking lot. I was waiting on a message. As I walked the dog today, I asked God to open the door to my heart and come in for a while and speak. It had been…

  • Meal

    Over the span of my life, I have eaten a lot of delicious bites of food. The first bite of caramelized onion butter on warm sourdough at The Foundry, the sea salt dark chocolate caramel from Hilliards, the sharp, buttery taste of Kerrygold Dubliner cheddar. These are just a few. But it takes many more…

  • Dad

    When I doubt and worry and despair, I sometimes need to check myself regarding what I believe about the nature of God. If I feel abandoned, that must mean that God is careless. If I feel shaken, maybe I believe God is not powerful. If I feel lonely, maybe my image of God is not…

  • Four

    My mother is the only person who knew pretty much my whole story and loved me anyway. She fiercely loved me, thought I was wonderful, and said so. She saw my insecurities, failings, and anxieties and knew the root of most of them. She could hear something quake in my voice about four seconds into…

  • Heart

    As an adult, I have dealt with heart palpitations on and off for years. It can feel like a racing or pounding in my chest, and the most scary version feels like I’m skipping beats. I have even had a full work up twice to determine the cause, wearing the holter monitor for a day…

  • Picture

    My Dad has been cleaning out his attic and today brought me a trash bag full of treasures from my early life that my mother had saved over the years. Going through old cards I had given to her was a little window into the person I was when I lived under their roof, most…

  • Work

    I have been sick for about a month with an upper respiratory illness that has affected how I hear, sing, and breathe, and it’s been hard to do those things in my work as a preschool music teacher, but mostly, I’ve managed. Yesterday, I had to call in sick for the first time in forever,…