simply me and jeans

As a runner,  I have four formidable enemies. A headwind kicks my butt. There are days I get dressed for a run only to walk outside, feel a breeze and turn around to head straight for the treadmill. Hills, although I’m more determined to conquer them,  also leave me wiped out. Heat is my nemesis and […]

For as long as I can remember it’s been important for me to recognize and value the struggles of life.  To recognize that faith doesn’t mean ignoring pain and empty platitudes aren’t helpful when they make it seem like the “faithful” don’t suffer. To give voice to things that could make people feel different or […]

(This refers to a book my Dad loved called Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach) Sitting among giant cacti. Watching the sun set. The silence almost otherwordly. I hear some sort of bird flying by. It seems so out of place, as if it had lost its way in the world and ended up in […]

My desk sits in front of our homes’ largest window. My front porch swing, two towering live oaks, my front flower bed and the livestock roaming in my neighbor’s pasture seem to be extra comforting as sunshine melts the evidence of this week’s snowstorm. Five days ago I sat here under layers of blankets watching […]

This is one of those posts where I’m telling myself what I know to be true and what I need to hear.  Just flat out preaching to my own heart with the hopes that I can stir up my faith. Because, truthfully,  I am so weary. This world seems out of control crazy and the consistency of […]

I try not to dwell on the fact that I’m getting older.  It’s hard to ignore when I can’t hold my tea without wincing at the stab of arthritis pain in my thumb or when my joints are stiff as I get out of bed in the morning. It’s hard to ignore when I scroll through […]

The idea of walking through a wilderness has been running around in my mind for about 4 years. Throughout my life, I’ve heard messages, songs and testimonies about people who prayed to be free of “wilderness experiences” and people who taught that we should do all we can to avoid them all together. The terms […]

It might have been 20 feet long and 10 feet wide but there’s really no way to know.  The eyes of a child see things larger than they usually are simply because everything is larger than they are. It wasn’t my favorite place to go growing up because I was the youngest, the only girl […]

My daughter sat with a look of wonder on her face as she watched the flames turn colors in the small bowl.  A torn-up check turned to ash in less than a minute. That minute was enough to make her say, “Anyone who thinks fire isn’t beautiful is crazy.” I could easily fall under her […]

A few days ago, one of my best friends said that I should write about this experience we’re all having with Covid-19. Her encouragement blessed me but my immediate reaction was, “I have nothing to say.”   I either write in my journal to process my emotions and what God is teaching me or I write […]