A steady dripping rings out in my kitchen and I listen to the singing of the metal bowl as it catches every drop. Normally I can’t stand repetitive sounds – the ticking of a clock, the smacking of chewing gum, the clicking of a ballpoint pen. But this sound is different. Each drop pops through…

It’s Good Friday. Let it be Good Friday. Don’t rush Easter morning. Don’t skip ahead to “the good part.” Don’t pretend today never happened and Jesus isn’t dead. Don’t fail to mourn or be heartbroken or rest in this space of confusion and grief. We need today. Don’t tell me about tomorrow and don’t tell…

Being a Christian means knowing the worst things aren’t the last things. I’m paraphrasing here. I read this, or something like it, recently in passing and cannot, for the life of me, remember what brilliant religious figure said it. Even an internet search rendered no results. So my apology goes into the cosmos for not…

It’s mid-Lent and the world is waking up. The garden center around the corner has reopened to satisfy every good intention. Next door, the farm stand is getting a spit-shine as the farm hands lay down rows of plastic to protect the infants below the surface. Yesterday’s rain had lost its winter cold and, instead,…

“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” from the imposition of ashes in the Ash Wednesday service, Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, pg. 265 Song of Myself: 52The spotted hawk swoops by and accuses me, he complains of my gab and my loitering. I too am not a bit tamed, I…

A local massage therapist offered a special to our faculty and I jumped at the chance for a discounted session. There’s something about laying on the massage table that not only loosens my muscles, but my mind as well. I do some of my best thinking on those heated beds. At the start of the…

Winter always finds me wanting to hibernate. A part of my brain follows the skunks, bees, and chipmunks underground to join them, sleepily, in their places of refuge. I chalk it up to being born on Groundhog’s Day. Every year on February 2 I tried in vain to convince my parents that I had seen…

Some gifts defy any expression of gratitude. There is the collection of psalms that belonged to a friend’s grandfather, a family heirloom that she chose to give to me instead of passing on because I spoke to her once about the beauty of the Psalter. Then there was the presentation of my grandmother’s cookbook to…

Hey, Friends!My apologies for being out of touch for so long. Cooking, dinners, parties, family, friends, more food, more cooking, and a few church services here and there, all filled my past month to overflowing in the best of ways. I have several essays in the works  but, for now, want to share with you…

While my husband is at work and the kids are at school, I find some time to pull out the boxes and boxes of Christmas decorations. Preparing the house for the season is a Herculean task, but one I adore and anticipate with joy every year. I love see each room transform as shades of…