My Flesh Will Dwell in Hope

This piece was written for the April issue of the Lee Creek Baptist Church newsletter. Across from the church where I grew up, there was a cemetery on the corner. I remember passing it one Easter Sunday on our way to service--on one of those sharp, spring mornings when the light is strong. The tombstones … Continue reading My Flesh Will Dwell in Hope

Seedlings, Siegfried, & Spring Mountain

"I say to the Lord, 'You are my Lord;I have no good apart from you...'The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;you hold my lot.The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance." ~ Psalm 16:2, 5-6 March goodness (and a little Madness): Sweet Sunday mornings at church Jared's grandmother's roommate at the nursing home who always announces him as "the preacher" A gentle rain and finishing Hannah Coulter Jared's new bird book Planting a line of potatoes and onions in the big garden Jared's parents out … Continue reading Seedlings, Siegfried, & Spring Mountain

The First Year

Our wedding came just two days after spring began, when the trees were still a tangle of bones against the butter-gold forsythia down by Papa's pond. So Jared and I came into the gardening season as stragglers. By the time we returned from our honeymoon, the daffodils were already blooming along our fence, and the … Continue reading The First Year

Hands & Feet Hospitality

This piece was written for the Lee Creek Baptist Church newsletter, Grace & Peace. On the week that my grandma was passing away last summer, there were members from my familyโ€™s church who stocked their fridge with meals---crockpot soups and breakfast casseroles. My sweet grandma had come home on hospice, and we knew it would … Continue reading Hands & Feet Hospitality

Bear Fruit With Patience

This piece was written for the February issue of our church newsletter, Grace & Peace. Each year, I get a little better at remembering to plant bulbs. I wait until the garden has fallen asleep and the late chrysanthemums have stopped blooming, those first few frosts biting at their heads and turning them gray. One … Continue reading Bear Fruit With Patience

Mrs. Rosalie

It was my parentsโ€™ idea to drop me off for the day at Mrs. Rosalieโ€™s duplex in town. I wanted to learn how to sew a pair of palazzo pants, and Mrs. Rosalie had worked as a seamstress most of her life. Instead of plopping me in front of a YouTube video, my dad dropped … Continue reading Mrs. Rosalie