This is the third in a series of three posts about boundary-keeping in the church. Namely, how do we decide who is really “Christian”, and how do those dividing lines make people feel? I recognize that boundaries, theology, and creeds are essential for deciding what we believe, and who we are. But the practice of drawing lines is fraught. I’ve …
Storyteller, Question-Weaver
The idea of asking my sister the question fills me with ice. Katie’s voice is cheerful, unaware of my distress. Her phone crackles a bit in my ear as she tells me about the trip she and her family are planning to the Dominican Republic. She’s ready to escape the Detroit winter. “I’m gonna go …
Using My Bible to Process Sexual Abuse at Church
(Trigger warning: rape and abuse) In my Bible-turned-art-installation, I decided to draw a map of the church I (sporadically) attend, the same one I’ve been attending for twenty-three years. I made my first public confession of faith there. I married there, baptized my kids there. I led worship and served as a small group leader. Most …
Better faith information will not save our lives
This is the second in a series of three posts about boundary-keeping in the church. Namely, how do we decide who is really “Christian”, and how do those dividing lines make people feel? I recognize that boundaries, theology, and creeds are essential for deciding what we believe, and who we are. But the practice of drawing lines is …
When books (or anything) cause you anxiety
Can I make a really weird confession to you? I love books. And sometimes I feel anxiety about them. I was an English major, and I’m a writer. My love of books is a huge part of why I started homeschooling. We check out dozens of books at a time from the library. We are …
I didn’t know Jesus was with me because another Christian told me He wasn’t.
This is the first in a series of three posts about boundary-keeping in the church. Namely, how do we decide who is really “Christian”, and how do those dividing lines make people feel? I recognize that boundaries, theology, and creeds are essential for deciding what we believe, and who we are. But the practice of drawing lines …
I didn’t know Jesus was with me because another Christian told me He wasn’t.Read More
When Asking a Simple Question Tears Open Your Heart
“Wait, I didn’t know you had a brother and sister,” Renee said. We were in my pool. The aqua color reflected the sky canopy overhead. It was Tucson hot, not as hot as Phoenix hot, but hot enough. On the radio in summer, they counted the number of days over one hundred degrees, and it …
When Asking a Simple Question Tears Open Your HeartRead More
in your face love: #wordmadeart
Generally, as an artist, if the idea of creating something makes you want to weep, it is golden and you must immediately do it. This was one of those projects. The prompt was to use pop-up book techniques to transform one of the Bible pages. My parents brought back some old photos from my grandma’s house. Among …
Witnessing Pain Without Fixing It
Note: Birth is a fraught topic. My story is just one story—you might not have kids, not ever experience labor. Still: all of us go through pain. And learning to witness it instead of fight it or numb it is a powerful, powerful practice. In my prenatal class, the instructor handed us all ice cubes …
The privilege of being small and beloved
I spent my childhood hoping to make it big. I did pretty well. At age 12, I starred in a professional production of Annie in Phoenix, moving an hour away from my home in Tucson for the run of the show, and belting out Tomorrow in front of thousands of people. A year later, I came across the play’s …
Caregiving Expands Your Heart
What do I dislike most about homeschooling? I am around my kids almost all the time. What do I like best about it? I am around my kids almost all the time. My kids are asking questions at 10 am, all in my business at noon, and just starting their second wind at 3:30. They expect my attention …
Spiritual Abuse is Real. Here’s How to Recover
The moment I realized I’d been abused, I was staring at my computer screen. I’d been working on a book about reading the Bible without anxiety, and decided to include scenes from my high school youth group, at the church I still attend. There, I’d made amazing friends, had my first heady experiences of fellowship, …
the spirituality of housework
For a long time, I felt ashamed of how routine my faith was. I felt ashamed that I could say a prayer without thinking about it too much, or read the Bible without deep study, or be in a worship service without soul transformation. After I had kids, it only got worse. I spent most of my …
When It’s Easier to Be Alone
Allrighty-then. Here’s my contribution. “So in this new year, how are you going to take care of yourself?” my therapist, Lola, asked me the other day. I stared at her, blinking. A normal person would know what to say to a question like this. Self-care. Self-care. The fact that I couldn’t answer her quickly did not bode well …
Cutting a hiding place in scripture: #wordmadeart
So the project I was most eager to start with was making a hidey hole in my Bible. Why? I am a murder mystery aficionado. Nothing says “Hercule Poirot” like a secret compartment cut in a book. ROMANCE. Again, a hiding place in a book? It’s so any kind of old-timey literature. All those verses about …
Creativity is a Window Into Holiness
As a writer, I face a blank page each and every day. I have to come up with idea after idea and sit down, each time wondering if I’ll be able to pull it off. The problem is less acute now, because I’ve practiced. And practiced. But it wasn’t always like that. When I was …
Gathering is a pain in the ass
After my mother-in-law Donna, died, we sorted her things. She sewed, the kind of seamstress that will deconstruct her favorite , figure out how to improve it, and make herself three more. My mother-in-law was always on the looking for odds and ends at the thrift store where she worked, especially anything mechanical or vintage. …
upside down and backwards: Recovering the Bible
You ready to start The Word Made Art?? The first project is to recover the Bible. In both senses of the word. (Wheeeee!) So last week, I introduced you to my Bible. Here it is again: Here’s the inside. (A little busy. Also: How did I write that small?): I gathered materials: I crumpled up the grocery bag …
Audacious Goals Are Rocket Ships That Expand Your Universe
I’m reviewing goals from this year. I’ll be honest: on paper, the my results don’t look good. I set about twenty overarching goals. Out of those twenty goals, I’m still actively pursuing three or four. In school, 15% completion would not a good GPA make. So you would think I’d feel a little chagrined about goals …
Audacious Goals Are Rocket Ships That Expand Your UniverseRead More
I’m going to wreck my Bible. Here’s why.
Meet my Bible from college. “Nice to meet you,” it says. I got this Bible when I attended Intervarsity’s missions conference in 1996.. It was compact, so when I left the next year for Argentina, I took this Bible with me. It was the first Bible I read all the way through. And it was …
Three questions to ask before you do something scary
Ever since I started a website about saying ‘yes’ to things, I’ve been trying to take intentional risks. But as I practice being brave in the everyday, I’ve realized something important. Fears are not equal-opportunity. Years ago, I pushed past fears about writing, and felt like I’d put myself through a meat-grinder. Honestly, the fallout hamstrung my …
Three questions to ask before you do something scaryRead More
It’s darker and more beautiful to start with the nothingness inside: One Woman’s Yes with Esther Emery
Oh, guys, you’re in for a treat. Esther Emery chatted with me for an hour about faith, and motherhood, and realizing she’s not a porcelain person, and I was blessed. I think you will be too. Her writing and life always remind me that I have choices. About everything. Which is heady and wonderful and terrifying and bold. Won’t you …
You Can Change for the Better In an Instant
“Look, Mama,” my youngest said. I was at my desk, a few feet from our dining table. Both my daughters were busy with markers and colored pencils; stray copy paper and card stock littered the shining surface. I pressed send on my email, then got up and walked over to her. And almost gasped with surprise. …
The most crazy-subversive, life-changing, Kingdom-bringing, totally unintuitive thing you can say out loud
Sidle up to your best friend at church. Tell your husband when you have a minute alone. Admit it to your mom, to your small group, to your grown child. Or, if all else fails, look in the mirror and say it to yourself. I am not okay. Tell the people you love why you …