Archive for 2013
A Cosmic Wager: A Dare Thrown Across the Galaxies
And that’s the cosmic wager. A dare thrown across the galaxies, between two ethereal spirit beings. Like dice in a cup, the stakes are set, and humanity tumbles into the bowl. With swift inhales, the invisible spirit world leans in for a better angle. Before this, the parameters were set. Striding into God’s throne room,…
Read MoreThrough Glass-Panes, Army Fatigues, and Deepening Twilight
He arrives with a familiar ta-da-da-ta-dah tapping on the door, and there’s no mistaking that capped man through the glass door. My dad steps inside, his dark cap matching his black chaplain jacket. “Dad, hi! Come on in.” I jump down the stairs, kick stray shoes off to the side, and hug him. “The house…
Read MoreHow Do You Live Without Regrets?
“Jen, do whatever it takes to rearrange your schedule and make it happen. It may well be your last chance.” The email finds me late one night, as insomnia stalks me. Curled up in the corner near an outlet, I’m reading emails after midnight. Blue light from the ipad casts a blinding glow across my…
Read MoreThe Secret Lives of Teens
They scare me sometimes, I confess. Or they have in the past. The tough-looking ones who are angry and sad at the world, bristling for a fight. Bored teens milling at store entrances, or jostling each other on the side of the road.Or the teen girls on the cutting edge of fashion, as I am…
Read MoreWhere Do You Hide Out A Storm?
On a long windy gray pier in Duluth, tourists wrap overcoats tight and pace the length, peering down steep embankments to the treacherous water below. White freshwater gulls dive and parry for bread scraps, sounding like a coastal town. Giant oil and iron ships pass under the lift-bridge, while stern metal signs warn pedestrians to…
Read MoreHow Not to Bomb Your Own Bonding Family Moment
How do you carve out time for family, without it ending messy and broken? It was one of those mornings. We had planned all weekend to spend some family time carving pumpkins. Saturday’s cold rain stole our motivation to purchase pumpkins. Sunday raced by with a bevy of teen friends over: guys playing games downstairs,…
Read MoreHungry for the Best Day Ever?
Flaky pastry crumbs tumble off orange-vested autumn color. He eats with a surprising blend of seriousness and gusto. Focused on the apple turnover, he nibbles and chews. Focused on him, I snap photos and realize how this wild love for my son melts me inside. At the apple orchard, we purchase tickets for a wagon…
Read MoreWhat’s in the Way of Your Beauty?
It wasn’t so much that I saw beauty then, but I was clearing the way for it. That’s the way, isn’t it? I sat cross-legged in the chilly grass and dug my hands into the matted brown weeds. Several grass heads slid easily into my hands, but the roots remained firmly in place. The flower…
Read MoreHow Do I Thank God for THAT?
I pour myself another cup of coffee and hear a semi truck’s rumbling exhales on the road outside. A friend’s question has been tumbling through my head this last week and a half. “I know I can thank God for even the hard things in my life — and with hindsight now, I can see…
Read MoreThe Walking Dead and You and Me
Tangy sweet and sour sauce simmers and floats fragrant on the air. Mark is making supper tonight as I catch up on emails and computer work. Five-year old Daniel battles plastic robots behind me while picking up tan chess pieces. Morgan tiptoes up for snacks before being shooed away with the reassurance that supper will…
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