Family

True Love

I attended a fairy tale wedding a few days ago. Two people aflame with the glory of true love... a blaze I am confident will carry them through the next fifty years. Witnessing the ceremony, the world seemed full of possibility, aching for all that is good and true. These two, I am sure, should the Lord…Read more True Love

My Beloved Mom (& Mother’s Day Gift Ideas)

In 2007, I stood on the banks of the Nile River with my mother. It was a magic life moment that came to symbolize so much of my admiration for her. She is one of the bravest people I know. I wrote about the experience in this post: A Beautiful River in Uganda, excerpt below: "It…Read more My Beloved Mom (& Mother’s Day Gift Ideas)

The Power of a Single Flame (Part 2)

When she picked up that first dying man from the gutter, there was no possible way she could foresee the masses across the globe whose lives would be saved. She only knew the fire in her bones could be alleviated no other way. And so she started rescuing, one-by-one, the last and least of the…Read more The Power of a Single Flame (Part 2)

The Power of a Single Flame

What began as a tiny subversive flame in a single heart now rages across the world. First, though, there was a choice: remain in the comfort and familiarity of a religious life, or cast her lot into the teeming chaos of impoverished streets beyond. The flame burned too hot to keep. She quietly shut the…Read more The Power of a Single Flame

Shine Like Stars Interview

I don't mean this irreverently, but I really think God is laughing at me. In January 2015, I wrote down a prayer request as I continued my art journey. I asked the Lord to “open doors to speak to more people.” Now, I most definitely did not mean “speak” literally. I've come a long way…Read more Shine Like Stars Interview

Hope In Fearful Times

Flags fly at half-mast in my lifelong hometown, Colorado Springs after two mass shootings in a month. I drive almost every day through the intersection where my family almost stumbled into a late October shooting; and yesterday I forced myself to return to a shopping area we usually frequent, ravaged less than a week ago by another shooting. And…Read more Hope In Fearful Times

“A Beautiful Exchange”

I'm honored and proud to introduce you to my friend, author Megan Nilsen. If you've been following my blog for any length of time, you know that I am passionate about adoption. Adopting two of my children from Kenya forever changed me and my art. To quote artist Makoto Fujimura, "We often think of great artists, musicians,…Read more “A Beautiful Exchange”

Reflections on my son’s last baseball game

When my first-born, ball-obsessed son, Jacob, was a sweet-faced seven-year old, we signed him up for the local Little League team. Practices were held at a neighborhood park, and my husband and I enjoyed hanging out on the side-lines with our three younger children and other families. We couldn’t have guessed at the time it was…Read more Reflections on my son’s last baseball game

Savoring the Simple Things

With every passing year, I grow increasingly thankful for the simplest of things. For blue-gray sky sinking low with snow, for burnished ochre grasses lifting proud rounded heads, for stately tree silhouettes, empty of leaves, but cradling dreams lying latent through cold. For growing children scampering after dogs of gold, brindle, and black with shy…Read more Savoring the Simple Things

Summer Day

As summer exhales its last breaths, I give thanks for its many gifts. Soon spontaneity will yield to regimen, a house cascading with myriad voices of four children and friends will settle into silent swaths of hours. The solitude I crave beckons. Like the wistful weary feeling at the end of a hot afternoon spent playing with…Read more Summer Day