Gaining a heart of wisdom
Flannery O'Connor is known for her short stories, but she packed images large and alarming into her economical word count. Murder, road side ambushes, and the cast of grotesque characters who populated her writing reinforced her oft-quoted credo: "You have to make your vision apparent by shock -- to the hard of hearing you shout,… Continue reading New Testament Women and the Piercing Embrace of the Following Life
He shows up every Sunday morning with a big smile and a small canvas bag full of candy. Swarms of children greet his arrival with joy, but it's his warm handshake and sincere delight in their lives that keeps those relationships alive as the kids become teens and then move on to adulthood. She is… Continue reading The Membership: Jayber Crow Discussion Group(4)
The geese have already begun their practice maneuvers over our heads on this country hill. They're getting ready to go, so at least one goofy son will have asked the annual joke question: "Why is one side of the V longer than the other?" Pause and grin. The answer? "One side of the V is longer than the… Continue reading Musings — September 2017
As I write today, Houston is well into the long rebuilding that follows a hurricane and flooding, and Irma has raged through the Caribbean islands and through Florida, leaving a wake of destruction and death. In an odd sort of coincidence, those of us who are reading Jayber Crow according to the schedule have been… Continue reading Like the Sound of Many Waters — Jayber Crow Discussion (3)
Last summer, we canoed down the Saco River. With kayaks, canoes, and colorful life jackets, we were a festive family flotilla bobbing along in the gentle current. On the way to our destination, we swam, sunned ourselves on sandbars, and the kids played a rousing game of gunwale wars. It was the kind of day… Continue reading Faith, Family, and the Adoption Journey
My faith unraveled at a Christian college. I know that’s not the way it’s supposed to happen, and I can remember wishing that a hostile, atheistic professor had bludgeoned me into my doubts with brilliantly irrefutable arguments. It would make for a much better story. Instead, the truth is I just got numb. The constant barrage… Continue reading 3 Stories Completely Ended: Jayber Crow Discussion Group (2)
Somewhere within the first decade of our marriage, my husband and I began to notice a disturbing trend: marriages dissolving all around us. In the church we attended at that time, three couples went their separate ways in a single year. They were active, visible members -- regular attenders. We looked at each other, both… Continue reading Activate the Love Filter: 5 Principles to Safeguard Your Marriage
The house where I grew up is gone, and I haven't returned to pay homage to the empty space. For me, home -- the place of belonging and permanence -- is this country hill which has created in me a deep appreciation and understanding of the importance of place. Expecting to live solitary and transient,… Continue reading Jayber Crow: Welcome to the Discussion!
Joanne's kitchen table was an uncontrollable force in her life, always covered with an assortment of books, mail, loaves of bread, and magazines. It became a joke between us that she was always in the process of clearing it. Fortunately for me, another uncontrollable force in her life was the power of God. She had… Continue reading Coming Alongside as a Way of Life
Loon call trills through the open window just as the rain begins to fall. I leave the sash thrown wide because, I ask you, who could close a window on a song like that? And as summer draws to a close, I am reluctant to close the window on a season that has been so… Continue reading Musings — August 2017
Living Our Days 