Do they feel we love our work more than them?
I grew up in a household where it was a joke to say that you were worth what you worked. Our family friend Brent used to say this about us, and it became something that we laughed about and responded with a “ha ha ha” and acted like we were just kidding...
It’s like you’re living the movie, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’
"Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?" -- Angel Clarence When my friend Jenni set up the meal train for us after our Accident, there was a note that went out, to remind people of...
On the Accident and Angels and the Rest of my Life
When she walked through the door of our home, her eyes immediately welled up in tears, as she looked at me sprawled out on the couch. You should be dead. You should be dead. Your kids would’ve been orphans. They should’ve been planning your funeral. I cannot believe...
Having a Mary mindset in a Martha World
My daughter left today. You’d think I’d get used to it. I don’t. When my daughter visits from across the ocean, we stop the busy-to-do-lifestyle life.
We go to indie coffee shops and on long walks in the neighborhood and make sure we meet with friends and family.
It’s hard, it gets better, keep on keeping on – On parenting
After the recent winter concert of my sixth grade son at his middle school, we went out for ice cream at the local Baskin-Robbins with about a dozen other families from the community who, like us, were celebrating the wonderful holiday musical event. It was my...
Rough Draft – The theme of the 2015 Faith & Culture Writers Conference and my life
I love the quote by Maxwell Perkins that goes like this: “Just get it down on paper, then we will see what to do with it.” Perkins, as the editor of Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe, knew what he was talking about. I also like the quote by James...
On not hiding my name tag anymore
Today after checking in for my substitute-teaching job at West Linn High School, I had to move my car to a different location, and decided to grab that much needed cup of Joe at the local Starbucks. When I pulled up into the parking lot of the coffee shop, I...
Hospitality is one Christmas Tradition we cannot let disappear
We recently had two families over for a Christmas dinner and cookie making session. Though Christmas is such a busy time of year, I so want to be deliberate about inviting people into our home for fellowship as a way of maintaining traditions, and maybe establishing...
No one cares, Mom – Oh, but they do!
There was no question regarding getting the Christmas tree this year. We got up early, two days after Thanksgiving, gathering our bags of cold weather gear, and drove to meet the Seigneur side of the family along with our older son and his wife at the Estacada ranger...
Searching for “Heimat” to finally feel the soil where my roots were formed
When my mom was 11 years old, she and her parents were forced to leave their homes in Sudetenland after Germany lost the war in 1945. They had to leave with nothing but the clothes on their backs and what they could carry in a few small bags. They buried a few...
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