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The Martyr’s Folly
I wrote this 4 years ago for an issue of Soul Gardening. Today—faced with daunting spiritual, logistical, emotional, financial and health hurdles— I wouldn’t change a word. I am so grateful for every...
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Let it Rain
I’m pretty sure tragedies can be wonderful things. In a controlled, organized and predictable environment, there is no room for faith to grow. We think we have a grip on life. We think we are at home...
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The Glory of Blue on Blue
Sneaking in at the end of 2014 is the book to rule them all. My favorite title of last year… Blue on Blue. I can’t help it. It’s everything I love: simple cadence, glorious illustrations, storms...
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Summer Pursuits
Some people categorize reading books as escapism or a guilty pleasure. For me, reading is more like the necessities of breathing or eating or sleeping. Summer reading just means more time to give to...
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Food Fight
Disclaimer: This article is not addressing any issues families may face with food allergies and sensitivities who by necessity, have to eat a certain way. This is written with all the rest of us in...
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Becoming Like Children
My youngest child is a bundle of sly giggles and untamed hair. She responds to each new day in virtually the same way regardless of circumstances. She looks to me for guidance. She gets it. She’s got...
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A Garden of Ordinary Miracles
This book is the reason why I write about picture books. I write about picture books because they offer a particular window into the genius and creativity of the human spirit. Picture books are able...
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In Search of Gold Leaf
Another broken dish. One more crumpled drawing. Play things destroyed. Furniture ruined. Irreplaceable books, Irrevocable damage. The litter left behind on a full life. Rose petals on Calvarian Road....
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A Large Family Manifesto
* * * This is my firstborn. When we became pregnant, people were worried it was too soon after getting married. They thought we needed time to get used to married life together first. But we were...
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Misunderstood.
“Oh Lord! Please don’t let me be misunderstood!” In a purple robe clinging to His freshly made wounds and with spittle dripping down His bloody face, He could’ve transformed that Crown of Thorns into...
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How to Be Pregnant
Inspired by this highly readable and important post by Blythe Fike: How to Postpartum Like a Boss, I thought I’d chime in with some thoughts you might not typically hear supported in books like What to...
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All Things Folk Tales
What is a folk tale? * * * I just wanted to take some time to celebrate how much I love folk tales in our home. I don’t fully understand why, but stories like The Three Little Pigs or Henny Penny...
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Sometimes Everything Isn’t Going to be Okay.
(and that’s okay…) St. Stephen… who suffered a second martyrdom in our home. I’ve written before how God can transform our hardened hearts, how an unwanted pregnancy does not end in an unwanted child....
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Self Esteem and True Humility
A theme that I’ve been thinking a lot about this year is the concept of disordered martyrdom. It’s the idea that, while motivated with pious intentions, we can deform the concept of good, holy...
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Enter into Death
Very soon, we’ll be transitioning into the “quiet seasons” of honoring the dead in November and then starting the liturgical calendar anew with Advent. I put quiet in quotes because my home is usually...
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How to Unfrenzy a Mind
My goal for this year has been to get back to a state of mental equilibrium. Somewhere, in the 13 years of bearing and raising six children, I’ve lost my attention span and become like a chicken...
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Weathering the Winter of the Soul
This was published in the December 2015 issue of NW Catholic. Winter is whispering its presence in nature all around us. And knowing that it’ll pass, we endure the cold weather and icy roads because...
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Christmas Picture Books On My 2015 Radar
This year there seems to be a lack of fantastic Christmas books but after a couple months of very surface level scratching (i.e. clicking the “upcoming in the next 30 days” button on Amazon), I decided...
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What I Read in 2015
Last year, everyone was posting their “Year in Review” on Facebook and I thought it would be fun to post my “books in review” for that same year. What I didn’t anticipate was how hard it would be to...
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Parental Duties in a Post-Mayberry Life
I found this old file on my computer from something I wrote in exasperation a few years ago. I updated it a bit and think it’s still relevant. In the next issue of Soul Gardening Journal, I have an...
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