Most of the following words were written last spring in a post on Caringbridge. Earlier this year, my 39 year old (seemingly healthy) husband was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. We are now on a journey with cancer that we never would have chosen. But God has made His presence known to us and…
If I’m being honest, I like to be a little afraid of the story. Epic fantasy stories—where the fate of an entire kingdom is at stake; love stories—when it seems as if those crossed stars will never align; and grand adventures—when I’m praying that my favorite characters will make it home alive, and whole. I…
I’ve been working on a novel for about two years. I have 10 completed chapters, which amounts to some 20,000 words. If you had told me a couple years ago that I could write 20,000 words of the same story, I would have scoffed at you—ha!—but I’ve learned so much in those two years that…
My husband was uncharacteristically silent after our church service on New Year’s Eve. After the kids had finally gone to bed — for real this time, without the tromp of footsteps down the stairs announcing one last drink of water or one last comment about Pokemon — we nestled into the rare quiet, and he…
One blustery autumn weekend I drove a few hours west to Fort Wayne Indiana, and had a blast talking with a room full of creative people about writing stories for children. In the process, we discussed an idea that influences both my writing and my reading of stories. (And I’m reading fiction almost constantly.) As…
Mary and Joseph watched uncertainly as a grizzled grandpa hobbled across the courtyard towards them. For a long time he stared at their baby. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes filled with the tears of those who have waited decades without any proof beyond their God’s love. Slowly, tenderly, Simeon reached for the…
I like folding laundry. It’s true; I really do. Throughout middle school and high school, I did my parent’s laundry along with my own. This occurred because I had to wash my smelly gym clothes every week, but I didn’t have enough clothes to fill up the washing machine. So, I started throwing in their…
A little while ago, one of our church’s more exuberantly squirmy members asked me with a hesitance unlike himself – suggestive of the very deepest longings of his interior soul – if at the midweek kid’s class, we could make a city. Maybe he is already developing a tendency to become an architect; but there…
In our household, song lyrics go awry. My kids will happily inform you that the correct rendition of the Brady Bunch theme song declares, “the youngest one ate squirrels” (“had curls” is so banal). The 90s hit, “Please Don’t Go” actually says, “Pizza Dough.” In Pat Benatar’s 80s smash single, she sings, “Love Is a…
It was a sunny afternoon in my backyard. The old man stood at the base of a small hill and looked up the slope to a little stand of trees and brush. His wrinkled and leathered exterior belied a kind and gentle nature. A closer look would discover a twinkle in his eyes. This was…
Fairy tales are a mirror of reality. The mirror in a novel shows us what is hidden in our own heart. The mirror in a fairy catches something hidden, too. If you squint over a good fairy tale, you can almost see it: what is lurking in our own, and all of history. That sudden…
Our family had a rough summer. It began typically enough. The hurried school wrap-up of mid-June ceded to languid, lazy days, replete with swim lessons, books, and sticky watermelon slices on the back patio. When July struck, however, grief stormed into our lives, barreling in as if riding astride the broiling summer thunderheads. One dear…
