"Let us say to Christ: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel. Let us wave before him like palm branches the words inscribed above him on the cross. Let us show him honor, not with olive branches, but with the splendor of merciful deeds to one another. […]

"SHE DIED ON a Monday during spring break of our senior year. After her funeral, I immediately went back to school because she had begged me to do so. It was the beginning of a new quarter. In most of my classes, we were asked to introduce ourselves and say what we had done over […]

"There is one thing on which we are agreed: there are too many books in the world to read in a single lifetime; you have to draw the line somewhere." - Margaret Lea in The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield

Confession. As a child writer, I used to create intentional mistakes in my first draft. The "sloppy copy," as some teachers loved to call it. I resisted the endearing rhyme, in part because it seemed to belittle the writing I took very seriously, and in part because I took offense to the idea that any […]

Today I discovered a couple of life-changers. First of all, the cafe at Whole Foods.  Oh, my great day.  Perhaps you already knew of this goodness, and you've been waiting for my grand moment of revelation.  A million options to eat (I chose the Southwest Quinoa Veggie Wrap), a cozy cafe to settle into, and […]

I think of all that is happening elsewhere, as I lie here. Nearby, I can hear the sounds of a road crew. Somewhere else, monkeys chatter in the trees. A male seahorse becomes pregnant. A diamond forms, a bee dances out directions, a windshield shatters. Somewhere a mother spreads peanut butter for her son's lunch, […]

It's a brand new day, The sun is shining. It's a brand new day. For the first time in such a long, long time, I know I'll be okay.   ~ Joshua Radin, Brand New Day

I'm reading Unless It Moves the Human Heart, by Roger Rosenblatt.  He's a many-decades teacher of writing, and this book details one semester of his graduate course: Writing Everything. There are a dozen students in the story, so you feel like you're just reading a narrative about a professor and twelve students giving their hearts […]

"Poetry is mixed feelings expressed clearly." ~ Tom Lux, in Unless It Moves The Human Heart, by Roger Rosenblatt

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are […]

"God can handle honesty, and prayer begins as an honest conversation.  My belief is that when you're telling the truth, you're close to God. If you say to God, "I am exhausted and depressed beyond words, and I don't like You at all right now, and I recoil from most people who believe in you," […]

"Learning is not the consequence of teaching or writing, but rather of thinking.  So a playful, provocative, unclear, but stimulating book could actually be more worth your money than a serious, clear book that tells you what to think but doesn't make you think." ~ Brian McLaren, A Generous Orthodoxy

"Say all you want about the grand and glorious aspects of a heady romance - lengthy and poetic recitations of love, Sturm und Drang, kissing in the windswept rain - what he liked best are the small and undramatic moments that make for a kind of easy comfort, for a feeling of being grounded in […]

Helen says, "I just want to say one more thing.  If I ever write a novel again, it's going to be in defense of weak women.  Inept and codependent women! I'm going to talk about all the great movies and songs and poetry that focus on such women!  I'm going to toast Blanche DuBois!  I'm […]

Every day, Helen thought, so many people tap the bull on the shoulder and say, "Excuse me. I'm just going to grab your horns." Why doesn't she? Why doesn't she? - Elizabeth Berg, Home Safe

"As image-bearer of God, man possesses the possibility to create something beautiful, and to delight in it." ~ Abraham Kuyper

"Mommy, when you find my new daddy, I think you won't be sad anymore." Well, my sweet child, I do understand what you mean and what you hope for.  Because you are too young to understand the complexities of love and healing and commitments and shared life, I simply smile and kiss you on your […]