vocation

  • Hospice

    Hospice

    “In all honesty, I have to say she was sent to me by the Holy Spirit.” My friend, Bob, was talking to me about the incredible care he’s receiving in hospice, and specifically the care he’s receiving from his CNA, Paulette.  Paulette came here from Jamaica 33 years ago, raised five children, and worked hard…

  • Phlox

    Phlox

    I am astounded by phlox.  You know, the tiny little perennial flower that pops up in bright pink, purple, and white this time of year on hillsides and rock walls.  We planted a couple of small bits on our patio around some larger planters four or five years ago and each year it comes back…

  • Walk – 2020

    Walk – 2020

    For the past several years on New Year’s Eve, our sweet hosts have pulled out a sheet of cardboard on which everyone writes their goals for the year ahead in permanent sharpie.  One year I wrote that I would find our dog, Bailey, and I did. Another year I wrote that I would run a…

  • Holy

    Holy

    I walked into church, and found an earwig in the holy water. It was a picture of how I felt today; a skittering, slimy creature swimming in the midst of all that’s holy and spoiling it for everyone else. It’s been a rough couple of days (and months and years), and it’s sometimes hard for…

  • Alma Mater

    There was a college student observing in one of my preschool music classrooms today, and as I watched her, dark-haired and nervous, I saw myself so many years before. I was once a freshman education major, sent into classrooms to see if it was an environment in which I wanted to work for the rest-of-my-life,…

  • Plans

    Plans

    I must have woken up on the wrong side of the life bed this morning, because at 8am today, I was in a bad way. Maybe it was the moon, or fatigue, or that late night chocolate ice cream the night before, but I woke up today feeling utterly worthless. News of the accomplishments, new…

  • Book

    I’ve been following a recent online discussion about the value and practical workings of platform building in the Christian publishing and speaking industry. The players in the discussion are all published, known figures, and they speak about how personal branding, and the targeting of ‘likes’, clicks, and views on social media has put the industry,…