The first weeks of this year have been some of the hardest of my life for many reasons. My tendency as is true for many people is to manage the hurt. Responding by fleeing, fighting, or freaking. Internally I have done all three. However, the dramatic conclusion I have found is I am utterly helpless. […]

A year ago I said goodbye to my mom for the last time. The past 365 days have been a wild ride on the train of grief with all the ensuing emotions for all of us. As hard as it has been there is one thing that has been unwavering. When my phone rings I […]

As this week starts off there isn’t any thing outwardly that seems different.  Yet we signed a piece of paper on  Saturday that means we are parents. As the ink dried tears flowed down my face.  Hot tears of joy that came out of some deep within me.  Over the past year we have filled […]

Recently I have been struck by ordinary time. I know technically on the church calendar ordinary time is twice a year season that we are currently not in. However, last year I went to at least four weddings,  and over ten funerals.  I buried my last living grandparent and my mother. And on heels of […]

Last Thursday was cold and drizzly. I was enjoying a relaxing evening on the couch. When suddenly Durango jumped straight up from a dead sleep into full alert. He was inconsolable so I entertained his paranoia and  opened the front door to look. My eyes scanned the darkness and nothing unusual stood out. Durango’s bay […]

Reading Deuteronomy I can feel the tension of this last stop on the journey to the promised land. The journey has been long and arduous a whole generation has passed away. The path has been circuitous and fraught with mistakes. God though has been ever present beckoning and leading forward. Not on a journey to […]

If I were to spin around in my office chair there is no way to describe the randomness you would see. Game supplies, library, crafts supplies, old towels, nails, lumber, on and on. Of course the youth room is just as full of fun things. After a little tidying at the end of a long […]

The semester is going to end with a huge bang. Two papers and Two finals to prepare for this month. Then one more semester to go by the end of the summer it will be over (fingers crossed).  

I have learned a lot about saturation this last year. I have never lived on a steep hill until now. when the rain comes on a hill you think about it forcefully flowing down off the hill. Apparently when there is a lot of rain it happens under the ground as well and ends up […]