An acquaintance and I were discussing what we want to do that will be meaningful as we grow older. “I am not going to color!” was her strong statement. There was a hint of disgust in her tone. I love to color. I have a nice set of pencils and markers and several books. When I am upset or puzzling about a problem keeping my hands busy as I stew frees me to clarify my processing. I love to see patterns change as I choose one color over another or accentuate one part of the des

On my hands and knees, scrapping years of paint off the trim, I thought about the children who have played there and my own daughter who will play there soon. It seems strange to think about a house offering hospitality and yet and I can’t shake the feeling of welcome I get from this house. Welcoming us into the next chapter in our lives. It’s 120 years old, a lot of life has been lived there. I’m surrounded by remnants from a life I’ll never experience; a patched-up hole in

Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the disciples and said: “I’m telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you’re not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in.” The Message Bible Matthew 18:3 Sitting on a woman’s lap across from me at the table was one of the cutest little girls I have seen. She was drinking from a small bottle of water and trying to replace the cap when its content

The first time I met Tim I knew something was different about him. He was only 16 years old, but already he had a way of letting me know I needed to watch my back. He did this without words. It was the way he looked at me--at the other guys in the community. It was the stories we’d hear of things he had done and the ways he had caused harm. By all accounts, Tim is someone you should avoid. His track record would imply that he is not safe. He is one of many people in our s

I left the onion in the refrigerator thinking that I would use it later to cook something delicious. What a surprise. Impatient to move on with its own life's plan it had morphed into something beautiful but useless for cooking. There must be a blog in this somewhere. So, it sits on the kitchen counter and speaks to me. It speaks to me of how precious life is. And how demanding life is. I am reminded of hiking in the mountains, seeing a young tree growing in the crack of a hu