I prayed and prayed for God to do something miraculous that summer, for Him to change the lives of the people we met, to bring a revival to the small beach town where we served. Instead, our rag-tag little group barely survived til August. Read more
It’s not always easy to face who we’ve become, especially if it’s so different than what we had planned. Read more
Advent both heightened and diminished the expectations of Christmas: I began waiting for something other than gifts and stockings. Read more
For a new book manuscript I’m working on, I’m trying to capture the world I grew up in, the world where my parents worked with their hands to pay the mortgage, we grew and hunted food because we had to, and dinner out usually meant a potluck meal at a relative’s … Read more
This post is quite different from my normal writing here. I’m not changing my strategy or trying to cause controversy. I hope the purpose of these words will become clear as you read. And like everything I write, I hope these words will bring life to you. We share a last name. She married into […] Read more
Last week, we talked about the ways our words could propel new graduates into their bright and shiny futures. Today, we take a minute to think about the people whose words brought life to us. Remember your teacher, mentor, coach, or parent who said the right thing at the right time, who wrote the letter, […] Read more
“I used to write whatever I wanted,” I told a few friends before writing group recently, “I just did it, even if I didn’t know how.” It’s true. When I was younger, I wrote short stories, poems, articles, songs. I spent hours working on them, getting the wording just right. Then, I’d type them out—or […] Read more
I was almost 18, and for some unknown reason, I decided to try out for the volleyball team my senior year of high school. I hadn’t played the sport since I was a Freshman; the previous two years I had joined the cross country team. When running injuries during both seasons left a bad taste […] Read more
mis·fit – noun \ˈmis-ˌfit also ˌmis-ˈfit\ : a person who is different from other people and who does not seem to belong in a particular group or situation : something that fits badly : a person who is poorly adapted to a situation or environment __________ Every year during high school I went to a spring youth conference at […] Read more
Oh, Charity—You’re still reeling after quitting your first real job. I know that.I know it was hard to be called a short-timer, and it was disappointing to realize the career you had planned on for years wasn’t working out. I know that you are looking back now on the one time—THE ONE TIME—in college that […] Read more
