On Letting Go
“I don’t deserve him.”
Just 10 days ago, I said these words, watching my youngest son pedal away on his red bike, thick brown arms looped through his favorite safety green backpack.
Waiting on Island Time
“Time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life.”
–William Faulkner
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“I don’t know if I can marry you,” I tell my boyfriend as we snuggle on the couch in his parents’ living room. “If I do, you have to promise to let me go to Africa, alone if I have to. I don’t know when, and I don’t know why. But I know God has a plan ... I write the word bittersweet on a white napkin, pushing it across the table toward our exchange student. His eyes absorb the word as he rolls it around on his tongue, his French accent ... Once again, it was Winnie and me behind the bake sale table, while all the real excitement of the annual plant sale swirled through adjacent rooms. Winnie is a whiz at organizing the diverse, nearly random donations from friends of the land trust. Arrayed around us on three cloth-covered tables ... When Momae moved up north to Massachusetts to join Daddy, she brought her most precious possessions stuffed inside my granddaddy’s big brown leather suitcase. She also brought recipes handed down from my Nana, some hastily scribbled on paper, and others committed to memory. Daddy was an ensign ... We were up so early that it was still dark outside. In typical Florida style, the sky was foggy and heavy with dampness. The drive to the airport in my 12-year-old mind was magical; we were setting off on an adventure and moving to Bermuda. This was new for me because though I was born there ... We don’t bury pigs into the belly of the earth anymore. Near the cast-iron caldron, steaming with pig skins over a fire, we’d gather to tell stories of how sacred spaces were made for more than church. We’d tell stories of why we loved the neighbor on the right ... “What do you think?” Regina asked as I began to chew the small white lump she offered from the plate of cookies she held in front of me. She leaned closer as I caught sight of her son, Patrick, shaking his head. My taste buds registered their complaint at the same ... I love sunrises, sunsets. The grandeur of mountains, the movement of the ocean, the starkness of the desert—all engage my senses. But nothing captures my heart like the beauty of God revealed in his created image bearers. I see God in my husband, ... One of the most powerful and strategic ways God is at work right now building his church is not in any one location – it’s online. The constant access we have to everything offered online can be viewed negatively. The enemy is certainly using it ... Tradition! To some, this word brings up images of Tevye dancing in the streets in Fiddler on the Roof. Though we laughed at his insistence that tradition meant everything, many feel ... Last weekend, I had eleven 12-year-old boys in my basement for a youth retreat. It was chaotic, gross, and perfect. We heard unhindered laughing, chasing, yelling, and body noises through two floors and closed doors. The leaders talked straight about God and good choices. ... Almost seven years ago, God took me on a journey that only he could orchestrate. To say that my Christian bubble burst is an understatement. One day, I am driving children to soccer practice and running late to a PTA meeting, and the next day, I am sitting across women ...
A Promise, a Prayer, and an Irresistible Smile
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Bittersweet
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A Cake, the Klan, a Senator’s Stand
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Momae’s Kitchen
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Bermuda Family Meals & Jesus
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On Theology, Food, and Storytelling
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A Recipe for Friendship
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The Creator’s Beauty Revealed in His Daughters
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How Digital Tools Are Changing the Church
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Contemporary Worship: Music to My Ears
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I Confess: I Don’t Want Donuts
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The Hidden Strength of Women in Poverty
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