Do you ever wish you were less attached to your phone? That you could set it down and walk away? It’s something I strive for, but most of the time I fail miserably. Until the inevitable happened last month. As I went to take a picture on my phone, I received the dreaded message that…
One day in April, my son and I took our kayak and paddleboard out on a local lake. We paddled leisurely around the lake, going farther than we usually do. The wind was against us when it blew, and the occasional gusts made it difficult to paddle. As I stood on the paddleboard, my body…
The blue of the sky was two shades deeper than it had been any of the other days that week. The salt air carried the weight of winter on its breeze, but the warmth of the sun held the promise of spring. Laughter, slightly muted by the rhythmic surf, carried across the sunbaked sand. My…
I closed my eyes for a twenty-minute nap on the couch, only to be awakened fifteen minutes later by a blood-curdling scream directly outside the window behind me. But as frightened as I was, I was completely disoriented and didn’t want to risk motion. The sound came again, this time closer. I slowly crept to…
A year and a half ago, I experienced a debilitating concussion. Not being able to drive, work, or get out of bed shook me to the core in all the ways you’d expect, and it did something more, too. Before the concussion, my intelligence was my identity. I was wise and witty, the one who…
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matthew 5:9 NIV) I grew up thinking that peacemakers were rare, sentient beings. I envisioned Mother Teresa at the highest level, living a life of poverty to care for the world’s most needy. I thought of women like my grandmother, who smiled and…