I’m thrilled that you’re here. And honored. Thank you.
Back in 2019, I closed my website down (a long story) and all my writing went with it. Now I’m in the process of adding back every post, from 2004 forward. It’s slow-going, but bit-by-bit the shape and sound of my voice over these past 15+ years is taking shape…
As amazing as writing is – being able to express one’s thoughts, heart, and life in words, concepts, and ideas – conversation is even better; hearing your heart, the best. Don’t hesitate to reach out in response. And if my writing speaks, resonates, and encourages, I hope you will to subscribe to my Weekly Letter. It’s from my heart to yours.
To narrow things down, click on any of the categories below.
About Courage & American Ninja Warrior
I do not know how to explain why I love American Ninja Warrior. My youngest daughter and I started watching...
Does it feel costly to be yourself?
Let's be honest: it does feel costly to be ourselves. Maybe not all of the time, but certainly in some...
Acknowledging the Choices that are Ours
I received a frantic call from one of my daughters a month or so ago. She was in a desperate state, I was...
Happy 23rd Birthday, Abby!
I’m sure I say something similar every year, but how is it possible that you are 23 today? How is it...
See yourself as a miracle
When I was 8 or 9, my newborn sister went into the hospital. I don’t remember the details. I don’t remember...
How to Trust Your Inner Wisdom
I could offer you a whole bunch of reasons why you can and should trust your wisdom, why it’s reliable, why...
4 Way to Hear Your Own Wisdom
It’s taken me years (and years and years) to acknowledge that I had wisdom that was uniquely, distinctly...
A 3-Step Plan Worth Following
I lived a very long season of my life (decades, really) in which I was endlessly on the hunt to find a plan...
Remember Who You Are
I talk about sovereignty all the time. It’s a program I offer. But more than all else, it’s a reality, a...
Your Inner Dialogue & the Voices in Your Head
Maybe it's only me, but no matter how long it's been since some of my less-than-stellar stories took place,...
The Power of Childhood Stories
We rarely give a second thought to the stories of our childhood. Fairytales, religious myths, favorite...
Your Wild Voice Within
...the shadow of Wild Woman still lurks behind us during our days and in our nights. No matter where we are,...
No imagination required…
There’s a story I love to tell of a mostly unknown woman named Jael. She singlehandedly won a huge battle...
The struggle that IS worthwhile
I love Leo Tolstoy’s opening line in Anna Karenina: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is...
Smart. Responsible. Steadfast. (Or not…)
Smart.Responsible.Steadfast. These three are jailer’s cell.A clanking of keys;lockstep required. They...
The Divide between Silence and Speaking
Jan Richardson, one of my all time favorite writers and poets, has a poem called Having Taken the Fruit....
Write Toward Vulnerability
If something inside of you is real, we will probably find it interesting, and it will probably be universal....
Belief: Then & Now
There was a time in which any question about what I believed merited a simple, obvious, and expected answer....
Sit still. Be quiet. Feel.
Now that both of my girls live miles, states, and flights away from me, I find myself transitioning into...
6 Ways to Access Your Inner Wisdom
It’s taken me a lifetime to learn that I can trust myself and my own knowing instead of needing to rely on...
Choosing others’ comfort OR choosing self
I have a library of personal stories in which I let others' needs demands overrule my own. I'm not proud of...
Changing Everything
If you want to learn about a culture, listen to the stories. If you want to change a culture, change the...
Steps that count vs. counting steps
I have an Apple Watch that I rarely wear. It enables me to count my steps which, on good days, encourages...
Amelia Earhart. Agency. Taking action.
Amelia Mary Earhart was born July 24, 1897. In her short life, she was the first female aviator to fly solo...
Wisdom does as Wisdom says
Women hold all the wisdom they could ever need, that the planet could ever need, that the world so...
If your stories could talk…
A number of years ago I learned about intertextuality. It is how one text speaks to or shapes another; how...
Hearing Voices
I am neck-deep in manuscript-writing these days. This book, my book, this thing I've been nurturing and...
A DSM-V Code
Did you know that there is a DSM-V code for religious or spiritual problems? Yep: V-Code 62.89. Apparently...
A late-night text
I’ve been thinking about the wisdom that has shaped much of my life. I’m grateful for some of it, to be...
Non-existent, but no less real (February 29)
My father died a year ago today. No, that’s not quite right. He died on February 29, 2020. That day doesn’t...
Refrigerator-Magnet Wisdom
Last month I was in a bookstore in Lexington, KY with both of my daughters. We wandered in three different...
What’s left on the cutting room floor?
Each morning, lately, I have been reading from a book with 365 reflections. Some I resonate with; others,...
Choose life – and life – and life
There is an ancient story told of a woman who did not waver when the situation demanded swift (and...
The how-to’s of being “big”
In my last post I named the ways in which we have transmuted being small into our very DNA. This is not the...
Unraveling “small” on behalf of “big”
We must learn to be big in a way we’ve never been big - we must claim our right to take up space, to say our...
Go Deeper Still
Go deeper still... You already know this: there is profound wisdom, strength, beauty, and grace that lies in...
The stories we tell ourselves
I've been thinking about the stories I tell - those of ancient, sacred women who have been absented from our...
My grown-up Christmas list:
One of my favorite Christmas carols by Amy Grant, offers these lyrics: “No more lives torn apart, That wars...
If we could have coffee together…
If you and I were sitting across from each other, sipping coffee, it would be inevitable that eventually I...
Today is my birthday!
I am 60 years old today. How is that even possible? The days leading up to this one have been filled with...
Remember who you are
I was in a queer mood, thinking myself very old; but now I am a woman again – as I always am when I write. I...
She was a voice
I ordered and read The Book of Longings last week. Written by Sue Monk Kidd, author of The Secret Life of...
Old Stories Make the New Ones Stronger
I listened to Brene Brown’s latest podcast - a conversation with Elizabeth Lesser, co-founder of the Omega...
Happy 24th Birthday, Emma Joy!
Happy 24th Birthday, Emma Joy.Though I’ve written these missives every year for a very long time, this one...
The power of women’s stories…of YOUR story
There’s an old, old story told that begins with a narcissistic, paranoid, and power-hungry man (which sounds...
Militancy + Hope + Desire
(A Sunday Sermon, of sorts - even though it's not a Sunday...) To refuse to participate in the shaping of...
Happy 22nd Birthday, Abby!
Happy 22nd Birthday, Abby. For many years I have written you a blog post on this day - commemorating the...
The shadows are not our home
We wake up each morning and watch the world around us burn. We see corruption, scandal, and the decimation...
A shocking event (with some context)
A Sunday sermon, of sorts, that I hadn’t planned to write... You know those movies that start with a...
A crossroad, a cliff’s edge, & decisions
Over a lifetime, we find ourselves at crossroads: a relationship, a marriage, a divorce, a career decision,...
Take your seat at the head of the table
All of us know times, even seasons, in which we struggle and strain to feel like we’re on solid ground...in...
What is 23?
I don’t like to even think about when I was 23, truth-be-told. Which is why I love to think of you. You,...
Happy 21st Birthday, Abby!
Yesterday, when out running errands, I idled at an intersection and watched a homeless man holding a sign...
Retrieving the Fragments
Although women’s words have been censored or eliminated from much of [our] heritage, in the midst of the...
The you you know best
Who would you be if you didn’t hold back? If all your power, compassion, love, and strength roared into any...
In tribute to Mary Oliver
At the end of last week, in reflecting on Mary Oliver’s life – small respite in the wake of her death – I...
Redefining Ordinary
The desire, temptation, and lure to live an extraordinary life is strong; to figure out our “one thing;” to...
Believing the Voice Within You
A voice dwells within you that can be trusted, that longs to be listened to, that consistently speaks truth....
As 2019 begins…
To hope is to gamble. It’s to bet on your futures, on your desires, on the possibility that an open heart...
Extravagant
There’s an ancient sacred story told of a woman who was beautifully, lavishly, even shockingly extravagant....
Hannah
Have you ever had a desire, a hunger, a longing so profound that any sacrifice would be worth its...
The Women at the Tomb
All we have are the stories, based on the unreasonable experience of people we never knew–and the choice of...
The Widow of Nain
There is an ancient story told of a widow whose only son died. With him went her last semblance of family,...
Sophia
Wisdom seeking is difficult because, as Martha Nussbaum has written, “Knowing can be violent, given the...
The birth of my blog…
When you write, you have to attempt something greater than you can possibly hope to accomplish. That is the...
Happy 22nd, Emma Joy!
It was shocking enough to acknowledge your sister’s 20th birthday – the fact that I no longer have...
Happy 20th Birthday, Abby!
How has the day arrived in which I no longer have teenagers? How is it that today you turn 20? I stand in...
A story about (in)visibility
Women: you are not unseen, unheard, or invisible! Ever! Do you ever feel as though you (and other women) are...
You’re Allowed to Run
It is excruciating to be the victim of someone’s scorn, passive-aggressive behavior, or blatant harm. All of...
3 Verses and a Refrain
Verse #1: There is good news. Nothing about you is broken. Nothing about you is wrong. Nothing about you...
4 Takeaways that Matter
I spend countless hours in the midst of the ancient, sacred stories of women - wanting and wondering how to...
What I need you to remember:
We are desperate to see ourselves in powerful and empowering ways. It’s no wonder: we have too-often and for...
Do the Next Thing
I don’t know about you, but when I read or hear the stories of amazing women (which is ALL the time), I have...
I’m right about this…
Chances are pretty high that if your desire is strong enough, acute enough, and impossible to dissuade,...
No Fairy Godmother
There’s a story I love to tell of a mostly unknown woman who singlehandedly won a huge battle for an entire...
There is nothing you need to figure out
I see the tears behind your eyes. I know about that lump in your throat. I hear the thoughts that swirl in...
Before Mother’s Day
With Mother’s Day less than a week away, it feels appropriate to name and honor our larger, longer...
Fanning Desire’s Flame
Desire is a tricky thing. To desire feels dangerous because we might not get what we want. To desire is...
When Things Don’t Go as Planned
I’ve been thinking a lot, even more than I normally do, about my daughters. About the trials and...
Before Valentine’s Day
I have an ambivalent relationship with Valentine’s Day. When young(er), I wished and prayed that I would...
Magical Thinking
Many of us wait around or secretly hope that something magical will happen. If I’m lucky enough, patient...
As 2018 begins…
Rebecca Solnit has written a book called, The Mother of All Questions: Further Reports from the Feminist...
These Stories Still Speak
I’ve been awake since 4:30 this morning. Uncharacteristically, instead of lying in bed and trying to tame my...
12 Years of Blogging
I find it almost impossible to believe that 12 years have passed since I meekly created a WordPress site and...
The deep and ever-present wisdom…
HEARING VOICES We all have at least one – often a legion of them. They speak when we least want them to....
Champagne on a Tuesday
My oldest daughter, Emma Joy, turns 21 today. Yes, Halloween. I can still picture her, just placed in my...
Women Joining & Healing
I feel like I am drowning in a sea of opinions, disasters, tragedies, trauma, harm, violence, and...
Happy 19th Birthday, Abby!
Your birthday. Nineteen. Somehow, it feels different this year. As I was thinking about what to write today,...
My Empty Nest
I can hardly believe the title of this post, the truth and heft of just three small words, the fact that...
My Inner Critic = The Patriarchy
I was recently organizing files on my computer (something I do when I intend to write, but instead find busy...
Charlottesville
I feel a heavy, collective shame. I feel stuck, trapped even, between not knowing what to say or what to do...
About Being Ubiquitous
This post could be entitled About Being God Without Realizing Such. I came across this word while reading a...
My Heart (Monitor)
I am hooked up to a heart monitor right now. It’s mobile – just four electrodes connected to various and...
God on a Woman’s Terms
For most of us, the word "sacred" conjures some thought of God. Perhaps you associate this with a positive...
The Scaffolding Around My Heart
Today is Abby’s last day of high school. I just finished packing her last school lunch – ever; my last...
Holes. Gaps. Cracks. Miracles. Light.
When you write you have to attempt something greater than you can possibly hope to accomplish. That is the...
Why do you write?
"Why do you write?" was a question recently asked of me. Here’s my answer: I write because it is the space...
Sacred Conversation with Your Heart – #6
Today concludes this 6-part series on (Sacred) Conversation with your Heart. I am hopeful, though, that it...
Sacred Conversation with Your Heart – #5
We’re moving toward the end of this 6-part series. I am hopeful it has done your heart good – especially...
Sacred Conversation with Your Heart – #4
PART FOUR – SPEAKING DEEPER TRUTHS Conversation, of course, is more than just listening. At its best, it...
Sacred Conversation with Your Heart – #3
PART THREE – HEARING DEEPER TRUTHS My heart does not steer me wrong. It may speak to me of things I’m not...
Sacred Conversation with Your Heart – #2
Today features Part 2 in a 6-part series that’s all about Sacred Conversation – not with me, but with your...
Sacred Conversation with Your Heart – #1
Today starts a 6-part series that’s all about Sacred Conversation – not with me, but with your heart. Each...
Easter 2017
I will not be attending Easter services today. I will not witness the rows of shiny, white patent-leather...
My Left-Hand Side
I did a quick mapping of my body the other day. Here’s what I discovered – from top tobottom: Many mornings,...
Somewhere between Kali and Jesus
I am Kali Ma.I stick my tongue out of my once silent lips.These eyes, no longer mild,Are furious daggers of...
Nevertheless, we persist!
On Tuesday, February 7, 2017, Senator Elizabeth Warren began to read a letter Coretta Scott King wrote in...
For now. Not forever.
I have felt more like a passive observer, than riled-up revolutionary since Donald Trump became president....
Goodbye, Twitter
I cancelled and closed my Twitter account last week. I’m almost hesitant to mention it; it was so...
January 1, 2017
What dreams lie dormant hidden in the womb of your soul, quietly waiting, incubating seeking opportunity to...
Why Stories Matter
We live in a world of stories. Childhood fairytales shape our dreams and hopes. Family legends, imparted...
A Reflection on 12
12 represents the completed cycle of experience. 12 is the symbol of cosmic order. There are 12 months in a...
Yes, yesterday. Now what?
Yesterday, November 9, 2016, I did all the things I always do: I made coffee. I journaled. I gave my...
November 9, 2016
I woke up this morning to news I did not expect and cannot believe: Donald Trump has won the presidential...
On the Phone vs. In a Pew
I had a conversation yesterday with a friend. She’s married. I’m not anymore. She lives in the South. I...
Musings on Being Single
On days like today I wrestle with what to do. It’s a Saturday morning. Little requires my time or attention...
About Fall, Writing, and Letting Go
Never say there is nothing beautiful in the world anymore. There is always something to make you wonder in...
20 Years Ago Today
I’m awake far too early – no reason for me to be up at this hour. But rather than sleep – or attempt such, I...
In line at Starbucks…
I wish I’d written these sentences: Although women’s words have been censored or eliminated from much of...
So, I’ve written a book…
The subtitle is “A Braided Essay on Women and Silence and Shame.” And it’s published, printed, physical,...
Happy 18th Birthday, Abby
How is it possible that this day is here? Surprisingly, miraculously pregnant with you – wasn’t that just a...
My Three-Graces Season
I went in search of Renaissance art today, remembering that there was a particular period in which women’s...
Bloodline
What if you claimed your legacy, your inheritance, your very bloodline? As a daughter of Eve – the best Eve,...
On Writing – #4
This week, I’m offering a series of posts on writing – ones I’ve written before, new ones yet unseen,...
On Writing – #3
This week, I’m offering a series of posts on writing – ones I’ve written before, new ones yet unseen,...
On Writing – #2
This week, I’m offering a series of posts on writing – ones I’ve written before, new ones yet unseen,...
On Writing – #1
This week, I’m offering a series of posts on writing – ones I’ve written before, new ones yet unseen,...
Living an Ordinary Life
The desire, temptation, and lure to live an extraordinary life is strong; to figure out our “one thing;” to...
Handless Maidens and then some…
Two weeks ago I spent 6 days in the coveted presence of Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes. There were probably...
Where the Women Gather (and why)
How might your life have been different if there had been a place for you? A place for you to go ... a place...
Not seeing the forest for the trees (yet)
I don’t know about you, but when I read or hear the stories of amazing women (which is ALL the time), I have...
It’s all going to end badly
A few weeks ago, while talking to my therapist, I mentioned my ongoing and haunting hunch that the archetype...
The New Colossus
By Tanya Geisler For the last two years, I’ve been writing with a group of amazing women writers....
Orlando: 2 words that matter
Yesterday morning my daughter told me about the mass-shooting in Orlando. I had no words other than “I’m so...
A Woman’s Story
There is an ancient, sacred story told of a woman who was prophetess and judge. No other story like hers...
A story for Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day used to be the hardest day of the year for me – when lost in the throes of infertility. That is...
Is beauty worth $8 + tax?
As I sat down to journal this morning, I spotted the fresh tulips I bought just four days ago. They are...
Why didn’t you just say so?
I’ve been binge-watching The Newsroom for the past week. This morning I woke up far too early for a...
Desire for Desire’s Sake
Desire is a tricky thing. To desire feels dangerous because we might not get what we want (and...
The Scent of a Woman
I’m not sure how he knew to gift me with perfume, this particular perfume – this man I’d been dating only 6...
What if you didn’t hold back?
Who would you be if you didn’t hold back? If all your power, compassion, love, and strength roared into any...
On Miracles
I made a video a few days back in which I talked of Tabitha. Little known. Rarely told. Hugely significant....
Remember who you are (x3)
We are desperate to see ourselves in powerful and empowering ways. It’s no wonder: we have too-often and for...
Tears
Tears are a river that takes you somewhere...Tears lift your boat off the rocks, off dry ground, carrying it...
Boom-Boom
I often listen to podcasts in the morning. Out of the shower, getting ready for my day. Today’s didn’t...
Letting Go. Holding On.
Living through years of infertility taught me an invaluable lesson. And truth-be-told, I continue to learn...
Tipping the Scales (finally!)
The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips,...
The Full Moon and other thoughts
Whoever you are: some evening take a step out of your house, which you know so well. Enormous space is near....
Imagination and then some…
Imagination is a wonderful, healing, redeeming, strengthening, transformative thing. I spend a lot of my...
About rain and tears and grief
My desk sits in front of two windows that look out on stark trees. For now, there are no leaves in sight....
Chances are…
Chances are pretty high that if your desire is strong enough, acute enough, and impossible to dissuade,...
A poem. Some story. Lots of truth.
“Please understand me!”she cried.An impossible premisean impossible promiseimpossible, period. She...
Some Advent Reflections (4)
The Polar Express, Ahaz, Joseph, and me... Sunday, December 23 – Scripture Readings:Psalm 80: 1-7, 17-19;...
Some Advent Reflections (3)
Tidings of Comfort and Joy Sunday, December 16 – Scripture Readings:Psalm 63, 98; Amos 9:11-15; 2...
Some Advent Reflections (2)
Sunday, December 9 – Scripture Readings:Psalm 114, 115; Amos 6:1-14; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-12; Luke 1:57-68...
Some Advent Reflections (1)
In the spirit of Advent – the beginning of the church year – I decided to begin something (again): I went to...
Happy 47th Birthday to Me!
After writing posts for both of my daughters on their birthdays, I thought it only fitting that I do the...
Cruising – literally…
Is there a place that one can go to get away from all thought of stolen cars or even the graciousness of...
About Unexpected Generosity
Still no news on my stolen car. Frustrating, yes, but that emotion has been offset by the stunning and...
My Car’s Been Stolen
I know, deep down, that much if not all of life is out of my control. I also know of my proclivity to ignore...
Happy 11th Birthday, Emma Joy!
It is hard for me to remember anymore what life was like without you. I remember deeply longing for you;...
Fog
It’s not quite 7:30 in the morning and I’m on the train – heading into another day of work. Though it’s...
About Buses and Gratitude
A new season of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition has begun. The girls and I watched it faithfully last year...
Making Hard Choices
The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live. ~ Flora Whittemore A lovely sentiment, but...
Happy 9th Birthday, Abby!
Much has changed in the 9 years since you were born – and much has not. In the middle of the night on...
I’m Tired
There’s much to be done these days with work, children, life. All press for my prioritization. All require...
Remembering Madeleine L’Engle
Just last week an amazing woman died. Madeleine L’Engle, the author of the well-loved A Wrinkle in Time and...
White-Knuckling Clarity
I got an email from a woman today. In an attempt to describe her life these days, she said, “I am...
What Blinds Us?
Sometimes we have it in our heads that we are limited, that there are certain things we just can’t (or...
Playing Poker with God
So often we frantically seek for an explanation to our suffering, to the things in our own life and in the...
“It is finished.” (My divorce is final.)
Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending. (Lazarus Long) What we call the beginning...
On Money & Power
I’ve been thinking much these past days about money – how short it is, how fast it goes, how I’m always...
About Worrying
I made myself get up, showered, dressed, and ready before accessing email (as opposed to my normal pattern...
Rescued (about a cat, mostly)
What we do not see, what most of us never suspect of existing, is the silent but irresistible power which...
Women: Choose the Unfamiliar
I am here again, in a familiar place feeling something I’ve felt before, wondering why it’s still here, why...
I went to a Power Lunch today
I went to a Power Lunch today. I know what you’re thinking: “Really, Ronna?! Are you now going to buffet...
My Proclivity for Lists
I’m a list-maker, I admit it. I not only make them, I complete them. I can have multiple lists running at...
About Connection and Stamps (and God)
about reconnecting:Just a few minutes ago I finished writing a note to a person I haven’t been in touch with...
Happy 50th Anniversary!
This past weekend my siblings, our families, and nearly 100 others celebrated the 50th anniversary of my...
My lie about writing and time
I’ve been thinking more and more about writing – my desire to so, the things I so want to be able to say,...
Getting Drenched and Losing Control
This is one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite authors - Anne Lamott in Traveling Mercies: Some...
A Daughter of Defiance
I’m working on a slide show for my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary celebration. In the process, I came...
This Father’s Day
I find myself in a sort of a gray place today. Granted, it’s the Seattle area and the skies are often as...
Asking “what-if” questions
These days, at Mars Hill Graduate School, we are considering a lot of “What if” questions: What if you truly...
On Womens’ Suffering
I was at a conference last weekend in Syracuse, NY, at which a number of theologians, philosophers, and...
Choosing the Storm
I’ve been thinking a lot about how strong my proclivity is for calm; for a life that is tame, sedate, and...
Tiptoeing
I can’t tell you how tired I am of tiptoeing; of having to navigate through so many potential landmines that...
Choose Life
I spent a couple of lovely hours with a young woman this morning who asked me what I thought about spiritual...
Whose Story Am I In?
I just finished writing this entire post, went to read through it from the beginning before hitting...
I Am This Woman
I wrote what follows for the women’s event, Conversations (mentioned in my last post). As the days have...
Women Together: the best kind of danger
I just returned from three glorious days on the waterfront in Gig Harbor, WA. If that wasn’t good enough, I...
Power & Privilege (and me)
These words: power and privilege, have been part of numerous conversations lately. Some of those...
Will I tell you what I want?
A friend loaned me a book last week that I can’t put down. It’s called Women and Desire: Beyond Wanting to...
Prophet as Female
While I was still a student at The Seattle School, I remember hearing one of my professors lecture on the...
Piano Recitals
Yesterday my 9-year-old daughter, Emma, gave her first piano recital. She was joined by 5 other young...
My Out Loud Voice
I was talking with a friend this morning about how common it is for women to lose their voices – not...