Chartreuse. The color of your creativity. That phrase pinged around my head this morning. I wrote it on an index card, attributed it to L.L. Barkat, and pinned it to my bulletin board. But then I wondered, “Did she really say that—like that?” Laura Barkat has unofficially mentored me for several years. Last […]
Becoming Mindful in Place: Under the Maple Tree
I’m sunk into a red sports chair in the shade under the backyard maple. The site of the Great Lilac Massacre is behind me and in front is the home of the baby bluebird murders. In my mind, I still see the blood-splashed walls and little pecked heads. The grandgirl no longer plays softball, […]
Compassion: What Makes My Blood Boil?
I stretch out under a crisp white sheet on a soft mattress, head sinking into the pillow. A student will do the procedure today. She applies the electrodes. One… two… three. “Yay, they’re warm,” I say. She cocks her head. “They are? Oh, they were sitting next to the machine.” “You should store […]
Straining Memories
I’ve heard the story many times. I’m dawdling as I dress for school in front of the furnace. My mom’s trying to speed things up. If I miss the bus, she threatens, I’ll spend the day in bed–at least until the bus would normally return late that afternoon. I don’t care. I miss the bus. […]
Where is Your Safe Place?
Safe Places I remember a scorched blanket or crocheted spread wrapped around a baby doll. I remember sitting in the center after finding matches on the bedside table and Grandma Dummer’s yelp and a splash of water. I remember forts of fern with stems stomped down to form a center where I could hide when life got hot. On […]
Scripture Sunday: Create
When he [Jesus] had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” ~ Luke 5:4 (NIV) :: “Wade where Jesus is still creating you. Choose creative whitespace.” ~Bonnie Gray critical voices beached boats, empty nets, dead dreams fish deeper water :: it’s never too late to […]
Making Manifest: Introduction by Dave Harrity
Today’s the day we start our devotional journey through Making Manifest: On Faith, Creativity, and the Kingdom at Hand by Dave Harrity, and I’m all tingly with anticipation. I can’t wait to see what happens when a group of us intentionally take some time over the month to daily slow down, still ourselves, listen, and create a […]
when the river breathes
The Frio splashes on tires, and Charity rolls down the window so we can bathe in the sound of it. Right away I feel a shift in my spirit and a nauseous-not-nauseous sense in the pit of my stomach–anticipation as I melt into this thin place that’s thick with the presence of God. The sacred […]
life after art: good enough
My husband would be the first to tell you he is not particularly handy. Even though the Handyman Club of America sent him a card in the mail designating him as a member in good standing. How that came to him is still a mystery. When he was in school, all ninth grade boys had […]
in which I fall in love with a dead man
We had a nodding acquaintance over the years, he and I. I admired some of his work, even spent a little time with his horse who stands proud in a garden only an hour away. But I didn’t know him. And to deepen our relationship was not in my mind map. Not at all. […]
