There is a God who always ever was and He weaves His Story into our days. This same God who conducts the wind, who made the moss grow rampant beneath the maples, the One who fills up heaven, He also dwells here with us, in our one fleeting life. And these days, all these running together days, though chocked full of common, ordinary, seemingly insignificant moments, are not some erratic succession of events, a mere twenty four hours in which we plod along and aimlessly exist. No, these days, each and every one of them is brimfull of meaning and purpose. Today matters because the God who exists is alive and well and He is not confined to church houses or sacred assemblies, but He is found here in all the gritty, humdrum slices of life. He calls Himself the great I AM. Doesn't tha[...]

Some days I'm plumb full of thankfulness, for all these little things. Like how I've got all this blue right above my head and that the yard is full of leaves and the day is still warm. And how there's this big field just across from where I live, and that my two little ones still take a nap so I can rest, or write, or pray, or just think.And I'm thankful I can breathe, in and out, deep breaths and there's no pain. And my legs are strong and sturdy and I can run if I want, or skip or twirl. And that I've got all this freedom and the loud noise outside my window isn't a sound of war or something scary, just my neighbor Doug, off to work on his motorcycle.And I've got these eyes to see. To take in all the light and to marvel at the last blazing shades of yellow or bright crimson red, still c[...]

I step outside to a fall breeze and walk the long yard through leaves, some gold, some brown, to gather green tomatoes from my garden. And I heap them up in a tin pale with a wooden handle, 'cause there's something that makes me feel a bit like a pioneer woman when I've got my tin pale with it's wooden handle. I'm barefoot and glad that it's still a smidgen warm and I can do this.  The day's been peaceful. Because last night before we fell asleep, Brent and I prayed together and asked God to help us with our lives. And I'd confessed how I'd been on the internet too much again. That lap-top seemingly attached at the hip and it's got this grip on me that I don't like. And if Jesus is the greatest treasure, then I simply wanted more of Him. And this morning, soon as my eyelids fluttered[...]

I've come to the conclusion, in my ripe old age of thirty-two, that life is just hard. Even an easy life is hard. Even a life where you married the man of your dreams, and you have two beautiful and hilarious kids and a nice, comfortable house and a great big yard and you live in a free country with more food in the pantry that you could eat in a week. Even with all that, life can be pretty excruciating on the heart. It just is. We all have our own reasons why.And deep down inside, in the middle of all the hard, we're all just looking for joy. We crave it. We just feel like there's gotta be something more than getting up and going to work and coming home and eating some food and watching a show and going to bed and getting up and doing it all over again. There's gotta be something mo[...]

Next month is mine and Brent's 5th wedding anniversary. (In which we celebrate the best five years of our whole entire lives!!!) But Brent found this awesome deal on Groupon, so he grabbed it up and we took off early for a few days while his parents watched our kids. (Thank You, Lord, for parents. Parents who really, really like our kids.) We decided to be a little crazy and go to this theme park together. The two of us had never ridden a roller coaster side-by-side, so we decided it was high time to get our scream on.Oh my goodness. I cannot express to you the amount of intense jubilee we experienced while riding roller coasters and bumper cars and go carts. And the amount of pain. When we weren't laughing, we were yelling for the ride to STOP because it hurt so much. At one point, Brent [...]

This morning, I sat on the couch while the kids played and cried just a little bit. I cried because I could feel the season change, the way everything turns, and I realized how much I loved the day long and the light warm and the grass and trees all green and growing. Summer is still here, kinda, because it's feeling chilly already, but I was missing it before it even left, and I wasn't ready for this change. I wanted to squeeze out some more barefoot, lightening bug catching, cicada singing, sand in our hair moments. So, the kids and I loaded up and we headed for the nearest beach. Like I said, it was a bit chilly--I probably should have packed some sweatshirts, but we found a patch of sunlight and played in the warm spots. Thankfully, the water was still warm and the minnows were te[...]

Here lately, I've been drawing close to God. The One who made me, whose hands fashioned me, knit me together when I was in my mama's tummy. (Psalm 139.) Because God, He says that if we draw close to Him, then He'll draw close to us. And I want to be beside Him, because He's kind.He's not a sky God. You know, the kind who sits on a cloud and yells from the sky every time you do something wrong? And threatens lightning bolts if you don't straighten up?  No, He's not that way. He's the kind that sits down, though He has important things to do, and lets the little kids crawl up on His knee and puts His hand gentle on their head and looks deep into their eyes and He blesses them. (Matthew 19.) And who doesn't want to be next to a God like that?So, this week I've been taking a break from my[...]

There are countless ways that God graces our lives with His Presence...we only need eyes to see.He whispers His love to us in a thousand different languages.At times He shouts it out.We only need ears to hear.There's a joy-song just waiting to be sung with our lives.It's intoxicating and relentless.We only need a heart in tune.Lord, please wash away the blindness from our eyes. Please take away the deafness from our ears. And Jesus, please take the hardness from our hearts. We need eyes to truly see...ears to truly hear...hearts that can feel You. Especially in this daily grime of life. You are our Joy. We long to savor You.

I am drawn to the woods. There's something about a deep canopy of trees and a floor of withering leaves and moss that allures me, no, compels me to enter in. Is it the quiet? The rugged beauty? The solace that I find there?The mysterious life that I see when I take time to be still? To stoop down and pause and just observe?I identify myself with the beauty-seekers. The God-hunters.God says that if we look for Him, we'll find Him, because He's not far from each one of us."...so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us." (Acts 17:26-28)I believe that's why I often steal away to come here. Because for me, the Maker of my soul is clearly seen here. He's vivid. He's real. And He's oh, so beautiful.I love be[...]