{If you prefer to listen rather than read, check out the audio version of this post here on my Abundant Life podcast.} When I stepped in the door my jaw dropped. The buffed hardwood floors, the wrap-around staircase perfect for prom and wedding photos, the windows upon windows. As I walked through and saw the open floor plan, the granite counter ... [Keep Reading...]
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The dance of grief and glory through the holidays
I still remember our first Thanksgiving after my husband Ericlee died. My family tried to hold it together. We tried to stay the course with certain traditions, but it was clear everything was off-kilter. He wasn’t there to run the Turkey Trot. He wasn’t wearing his silly apron in the kitchen, helping me chop the butternut squash for the soup. ... [Keep Reading...]
For those longing for a little Good News
Our friends Jenny and Peter recently posted a collection of the sweetest photos announcing their pregnancy. Baby onesies and ultrasound pictures were pinned to a clothesline they held between them. What joy to see their smiling faces and to wish them congratulations on this good news! We make a big deal about baby announcements in our culture. It ... [Keep Reading...]
Book review: Wonderstruck
The cool January breeze swirled as we strolled down to Elephant Seal Beach. The Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery extends for 6 miles along the Central Coast of California. A crowd was already gathered along the wooden fence facing the ocean. This time it was not the crashing waves or the angled afternoon light in sherbet colors that ... [Keep Reading...]
Finding real rest after a tragedy
The other morning, I went for a trail run at one of my favorite spots in Central California. I was mesmerized anew by the waves of golden grasses undulating over the hills, the cerulean blue of the sky, and the branches of the trees stretching in a dance toward Heaven. Water lapped at the shore below. My trail shoes connected with the earth, ... [Keep Reading...]
One word: Embracing a sense of Wonder for the new year
On New Year's Day, as our family was driving home in the evening from Los Angeles, we watched an incandescent full moon rising over the silhouette of mountains. She moved in a slow waltz to the center of the midnight blue sky like it was her dance floor. My girls were squealing in the back seat, "I want to see! I want to see!" I tried to take a ... [Keep Reading...]
