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Posts on Hope & Encouragement:

Unanswerable Questions

Unanswerable Questions

It seems that we are endlessly confronted with realities that confound, enrage, and incense. We sift through...

The Devastation of Hope

The Devastation of Hope

Last week I watched someone I love ascend into the heights of joy only to descend into its complete...

Living from a Softer Place

Living from a Softer Place

For as grateful (and amazed) as I am that I've completed my book, it is an incredibly odd thing to place it...

My Struggle with Envy

My Struggle with Envy

A few weeks back, in the midst of my morning writing/journaling, I reflected on a snippet of my behavior....

About South Stars

About South Stars

I was talking with a client a few weeks back who can honestly and confidently state that she is strong and...

I am NOT the Crazy One!

I am NOT the Crazy One!

No big surprise: I love books! A ton of them are on my Kindle and most of the time I’m good with reading the...

Learning to Trust Your Heart

Learning to Trust Your Heart

Growing up, I learned that the only voices I was to trust were those outside of me. Parents. My elders....

If I had a Book Group

If I had a Book Group

I ordered a book a few weeks back, but have basically avoided it since it arrived. Well, until a couple...

“I’m so proud of you!”

“I’m so proud of you!”

I have had conversations with clients in past weeks where a sense of self-pride showed up . . . and then was...

For Days of Self-Loathing

For Days of Self-Loathing

I came across a poem a few weeks back by Nikita Gill. The corner of the page was folded down — evidence that...

1000 Words on Aging

1000 Words on Aging

Being 61 is not what I expected…though I don’t know that I could tell you, with any degree of specificity,...

About Time

About Time

I’ve been thinking a lot about time lately; struggling with it in some ways. And oddly, it’s not because I...

About Being an Outlaw

About Being an Outlaw

Yes, about being an outlaw...but also archetypes and exhaustion and self-care and then some. The dictionary...

What Matters in a Broken World?

What Matters in a Broken World?

I’ve been sitting with a particular question lately that haunts me, in many ways: How are we to make sense...

3 Ways to Step into Gratitude

3 Ways to Step into Gratitude

There’s a very old Hebrew Psalm that’s been circling in my mind lately. It’s an ancient prayer that is...

On hope (via Emily Dickinson)

On hope (via Emily Dickinson)

I have always loved these stanzas by Emily Dickinson: Hope is the thing with feathersThat perches in the...

See yourself as a miracle

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...

A 3-Step Plan Worth Following

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

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...

No imagination required…

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

The struggle that IS worthwhile

I love Leo Tolstoy’s opening line in Anna Karenina: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is...

Write Toward Vulnerability

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

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.

Sit still. Be quiet. Feel.

Now that both of my girls live miles, states, and flights away from me, I find myself transitioning into...

Refrigerator-Magnet Wisdom

Refrigerator-Magnet Wisdom

Last month I was in a bookstore in Lexington, KY with both of my daughters. We wandered in three different...

Go Deeper Still, Still…

Go Deeper Still, Still…

(I first published this post on 12/31/14. It seems to me to be as relevant as ever.) Go deeper still... You...

My grown-up Christmas list:

My grown-up Christmas list:

One of my favorite Christmas carols by Amy Grant, offers these lyrics: “No more lives torn apart, That wars...

She was a voice

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...

Militancy + Hope + Desire

Militancy + Hope + Desire

(A Sunday Sermon, of sorts - even though it's not a Sunday...) To refuse to participate in the shaping of...

The shadows are not our home

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...

The you you know best

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...

Redefining Ordinary

Redefining Ordinary

The desire, temptation, and lure to live an extraordinary life is strong; to figure out our “one thing;” to...

As 2019 begins…

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...

The Women at the Tomb

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...

A story about (in)visibility

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...

3 Verses and a Refrain

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

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:

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

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…

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

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...

Before Mother’s Day

Before Mother’s Day

With Mother’s Day less than a week away, it feels appropriate to name and honor our larger, longer...

Before Valentine’s Day

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

Magical Thinking

Many of us wait around or secretly hope that something magical will happen. If I’m lucky enough, patient...

My Empty Nest

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 Heart (Monitor)

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

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...

Why do you write?

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...

Nevertheless, we persist!

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.

For now. Not forever.

I have felt more like a passive observer, than riled-up revolutionary since Donald Trump became president....

Goodbye, Twitter

Goodbye, Twitter

I cancelled and closed my Twitter account last week.  I’m almost hesitant to mention it; it was so...

January 1, 2017

January 1, 2017

What dreams lie dormant hidden in the womb of your soul, quietly waiting, incubating seeking opportunity to...

Yes, yesterday. Now what?

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

November 9, 2016

I woke up this morning to news I did not expect and cannot believe: Donald Trump has won the presidential...

My Three-Graces Season

My Three-Graces Season

I went in search of Renaissance art today, remembering that there was a particular period in which women’s...

A story for Mother’s Day

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?

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...

On Miracles

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)

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...

Letting Go and Holding On

Letting Go and Holding On

Living through years of infertility taught me an invaluable lesson. And truth-be-told, I continue to learn...

When Darkness Threatens

When Darkness Threatens

But a grave separateness has invaded the world... ~ Naomi Shihab Nye It is said that in the beginning,...

Chasing Rainbows

Chasing Rainbows

The night I saw THE rainbow was the culmination of another out-of-town weekend. I was in my 20’s (a very...

A freewrite on faith

A freewrite on faith

There have been times in which my own writing has taken me to places of surprise, insight, and even tears....

I am not shocked by you.

I am not shocked by you.

There’s a story I love to tell of a mostly unknown woman who singlehandedly won a huge battle for a whole...

About My HUGE Celebration!

About My HUGE Celebration!

About four weeks ago, I posted a picture on Facebook of a glass of champagne, hinting that I had something...

In the midst . . .

In the midst . . .

Here is what I know about you: Right now, in the midst, you embody the Feminine. Right now, in the midst,...

Tipping the Scales (finally!)

Tipping the Scales (finally!)

The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips,...

About rain and tears and grief

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…

Chances are pretty high that if your desire is strong enough, acute enough, and impossible to dissuade,...

Go Deeper Still

Go Deeper Still

You already know this: there is profound beauty and wisdom that lies in wait – deep within you. When you...

Sophia and Quantum Physics

Sophia and Quantum Physics

I had to figure out how to find Sophia. Or make the space for her to find me. One day I came to realize that...

Believing in Another World

Believing in Another World

The debate is long, old, and exhausting. Is there life beyond ours, in other places, on other planes or...

TRUTH is a warrior

TRUTH is a warrior

I’ve spent the last few days at a beautiful, private, and extremely quiet place. I’ve spent a lot of time...

Hope is . . .

Hope is . . .

. . . the singular gift we cannot destroy in ourselves,the argument that refutes death,the genius that...

On a Wire

On a Wire

Early in the morning I sat on the couch, my laptop awaiting the click-click-click of my brain and its...

There Is No Plan B

There Is No Plan B

On days like today I need a way to make sense of (or at least hold on to) my broken heart. Perspective....

Pregnancy. Infertility. Faith.

Pregnancy. Infertility. Faith.

The Ending:One day, out of the blue, unexpected, unanticipated, unbelievable, I was pregnant. And again, 15...

…a marvelous exchange.

…a marvelous exchange.

I came across this poem by Macrina Wiederkehr this afternoon in A Tree Full of Angels: Seeing the Holy in...

Life with Popcorn

Life with Popcorn

Life is tough. It’s filled with disappointments, unmet expectations, hurt, grief, frustration, on and on the...

364 Days

364 Days

364 days have now passed in 2007. I woke up early this morning for a vacation day and no alarm. I found...

Some Advent Reflections (4)

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)

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)

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)

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!

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…

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

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

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...

About Buses and Gratitude

About Buses and Gratitude

A new season of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition has begun. The girls and I watched it faithfully last year...

Remembering Madeleine L’Engle

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

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?

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

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...

About Worrying

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)

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

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...

My Proclivity for Lists

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...

Happy 50th Anniversary!

Happy 50th Anniversary!

This past weekend my siblings, our families, and nearly 100 others celebrated the 50th anniversary of my...

This Father’s Day

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...

Choosing the Storm

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...

Choose Life

Choose Life

I spent a couple of lovely hours with a young woman this morning who asked me what I thought about spiritual...

I Am This Woman

I Am This Woman

I wrote what follows for the women’s event, Conversations (mentioned in my last post). As the days have...

Prophet as Female

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

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

My Out Loud Voice

I was talking with a friend this morning about how common it is for women to lose their voices – not...