You Matter

It’s just a small tag, the size of a business card with laminate that reaches out a fraction of an inch. But it’s a special tag as well. At the beginning of every school year, the tiny church I belong in this swath of the Midwest gives out the tags to students and anyone else […]

We are all teachers. But we are all students.

I once saw someone who was wearing a tee-shirt that read: I homeschool because I have seen the village and I don’t want it raising my kids. While I certainly understand the sentiment behind that statement, a part of me worries as well about the children this person is homeschooling. One day, they will be […]

“But not all Christians……”

Once upon a time, I was told by other Christians that because I am female, I should not hope to hold any positions of power, that I should be better off just pursing a life inside the home instead of out of it.​ Once upon a time, I was told by other Christians that I […]

The best days ever

Today was the last day of the state fair in my swath of the Midwest, and like usual, I chose NOT to go to the fair this year. I’ve only been once in the sixteen years I have lived in this state. It’s too hot, too crowded, and too expensive for me to really enjoy. […]

Find your spark. Reignite your flame.

Yesterday, a group of friends and I did something that made my heart sing, even though it still feels like mourning sometimes. We gathered up all of the tissue boxes that had been donated at the visitation and funeral of our dear friend and church member, Margo Belote Murillo, whose death I wrote about just […]

The Joy of Childhood

There’s a gumball machine at my workplace, one of the good old fashioned ones where each gumball just costs a quarter. Watching the glee on children’s faces as they clutch coins between their fingers and run towards it always makes me smile. The excitement of candy, the anticipation while trying to guess what color gumball […]

Treasured

I have some words written on my bathroom mirror in dry erase crayon. They change when I clean my mirror, but for the most part, they have the same theme: Don’t let anyone steal your magic. Be the (love, good, change, joy, hope, peace, magic) you wish to see in the world You are loved […]

Weddings and Funerals

I was recently at a wedding for one of the other half’s oldest friends, whom we call his sister even though they are not blood related. It was a wedding to which we traveled almost four hundred miles over the course of a day. Many of the old friends had gathered for this wedding, bringing […]