~ by Christine Gough On Christmas morning I did a little internal squeal when I opened up a package containing a frivolous item that had been on my wish list…a felt letter board. A few days after the hoopla of the 25th, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law were helping me cut apart the hundreds of plastic … Continue reading
~by Jill Clingan This morning I was sitting on the couch praying the morning office from Phyllis Tickle’s Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime when my son Jack walked out of his room in tears. I thought maybe he had woken up from a bad dream. We had watched an episode of Stranger Things … Continue reading
~ By Sara Wolbrecht Sometimes, I just suck at prioritizing my time. It is one of my greatest challenges in both my home and work lives. Every day I go to bed with 181 things left undone in both arenas. To top it off, although I am a fairly disciplined person and a huge … Continue reading
~ by Andrew Tash Not too long ago, I awoke from a dream of an orchard and it felt like I’d been there before. And in that dream-awareness that comes when the narrator starts talking, I realized that I had been. I’d seen these as mere twigs poking out from their root stocks. But now … Continue reading
Season Change by Joanna Harader Last night I dreamt of an ice storm as our window fan sucked in the dark, crisp air. This morning I pulled on long-neglected jeans and a thin jacket which I shivered under as I walked the dog, wanting to climb into his soft, warm fur. The season is changing … Continue reading
~ By Elizabeth Dilley In the past month, I have received two gifts. The first was a knotted cross, given to me and four other women by a dear mutual friend, around whom we virtually gathered over the past year as that friend received treatment for breast cancer. This cross is a celebration of the … Continue reading
~by Christine Gough We are knee deep in the middle of summer these days and as a teacher with two boys at home–ages 6 and 10–we create a summer bucket list each year. Rather than seeing this list as a prescriptive, stressful agenda of to-dos, it actually gives our days a little structure and allows … Continue reading
~by Corey Fields Life can be an exercise in doing lots of work for what is relatively a moment of reward. You practice that Christmas cantata at church for months and it’s over in 45 minutes. You plan and fundraise for that international mission trip — often more than a year of prep for a … Continue reading
~by Lynace Pabst Veit Attending worship has always been a significant part of my life. With both parents in ministry there was rarely a Sunday that I missed church. We were the first to arrive in the morning, the last ones to leave, and there we sat every Sunday in the second pew from the front. … Continue reading
by Joe Greemore This past Father’s Day weekend, our family of five hopped in the car and made a summer drive through sun, rain, and wind back to our home state. There I was to officiate the wedding of dear friends. The venue was gorgeous: a festive gazebo surrounded by a fragrant, colorful rose garden … Continue reading
Practicing Families 