~by Kimberly Knowle-Zeller A single bell rang.  And then it chimed again.  One ring after another.  Over and over.  My daughter and I were walking and I knew it wasn’t yet noon, the time that the bells typically chime.  The two of us walked towards the bells.  As we approached the church, the bell continued … Continue reading →

~by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg When my friend Laurence had his first kid — a few years before I had mine — he shared with me one of his newfound secrets: “You know you’re a parent,” he said, “when you find yourself saying, ‘Oh, man. That’s so disgusting’ at least once a day.” But my partner and I … Continue reading →

~ by Christine Gough Vocabulary and shades of meaning make my heart skip a beat.  The 3rd grade teacher in me salivates a bit over the day when we get to pull out the thesauri and find the perfect word for our narratives.  To push away from using mundane, overused vocabulary in favor of verbiage … Continue reading →

  ~by Jill Clingan A couple of months ago I received an email from a friend, fellow teacher, and co-worker that said this: I have something fun for you to help with if you have time. I’m developing a new assignment in 9A, and I need a sample to share. Would you like to write … Continue reading →

~ by Dena Hobbs My daughter came to us from China at 13 months old not speaking a word of English. My husband stayed at home with her during her first year in our family and her language bloomed under his care. I stayed at home with her during her second year with us, and … Continue reading →

~By Jennifer Mills-Knutsen My family and I have just completed a major move. We left the small town in Indiana where I have served as a pastor for more than 10 years and gone to live in London, where I am serving as the Senior Pastor of the American International Church. My husband and I … Continue reading →

~ by Cheri Tabel photo by Tony Cifani It was a Saturday evening. I had read online that the verdict was about to read. I turned on the television in my room. I could not sit. I waited. As court room procedure played out, I waited. I listened to the pundits. I swayed a bit … Continue reading →

~ by Kelly Pittman Last week my family and I headed for the mountains in North Carolina for a worship and music conference.  It’s our third time attending this conference and, truth be told, although I take a class here and there, I really don’t go for the seminars.  I go for the scenery. This … Continue reading →

~by Kimberly Knowle-Zeller As the parents of a toddler, we haven’t hit the period in life where we’re spending days and nights on end at practices and games and rehearsals, etc…  So this past week attending an elementary softball game was a new experience. A picture-perfect night greeted us – summer, a breeze, the sun … Continue reading →

~by Christine Gough After a rough parenting day, one which involved three instances of difficult transitions with my 5 ½ year old, I typed a text message to a few girlfriends through tears.   It has been the first week of summer vacation and as a teacher, the days have been filled with writing report cards, … Continue reading →