shouts of joy

Mary, run -- that king wants to kill your baby son. Run, Alien, run These days of our open arms are done. Peace on Earth, Peace on Earth! Good will to Men. Run, Black Child, run -- that man has a badge and he has a gun. Run, Schoolyard, run We just gave that angry man a gun. Peace on Earth. Peace on Earth. Good will to Men. Good will to Women. Good will to Children. Good will. --The Brilliance

The other day, I took a bus from Pasco, WA to Portland, OR. Being the person I am, I marched up the steps of the bus with my backpack slung over my shoulder and tossed it in a vacant seat without any reservations. I listened to conversations around me as we waited for others to board and found them entertaining. But when we finally rolled away from the station my nerves began to escalate so I tried to sleep. Sleeping didn’t last too long and I began planning my next move if our bus was attacked. If a shooter was on board what I might do, or if the bus driver took a wrong turn down a dark alley, or if someone tried to take my bag. While I calculated my moves I played it cool by playing around on my phone and reading a book. With my hidden fear I sat quite alert for the rest of the 5 hour trip. Busses just aren’t the best form of public transportation these days. The common person flies, the more adventurous common person takes a train, and anyone else who can’t afford the alternati...

--> This morning I drove toward the sun like a moth flies toward the lamp. I was reminded how gently the sun comes out everyday, so slow and patient. I lifted my hands up as I sang a song that has been my theme song lately, Brokenness Aside by All Sons and Daughters (if you haven't heard it, just Youtube it real quick). My word for the week is Gentle. I’ve challenged the young ladies in our Friday lunch book club to choose 1 word every week. 1 word in which we independently attempt to become more of every day. 1 word that might be challenging to put on every morning, but might add a sparkle to our wardrobe. They choose such hard words every week – Vulnerable, Inviting, Engage. The experiences they share when we meet every Friday are so fun. I’ve been so inspired by them. As the weeks begin their own dwindling spiral to a cliff’s edge, I have begun dwindling toward the edge of insanity. My mind cannot stop, I wake up at night recalculating the 1 million and 2 thing...

I am loving teaching girls PE this final semester. Mostly because I always wished I'd had a safe place to experiment with and practice being kind to my body. I wished I had a safe place where I hadn't felt stared at and compared to. I love our girl conversations about femininity and modesty. I wish someone had told me in high school about modesty, how modesty doesn't limit your wardrobe, but gives a girl a beautiful backbone to stand tall instead of lowering herself to the desires of others. I wish we'd sat down in a circle where peers and teachers identified and encouraged our strengths, and told us that we might be tempted to seek our strengths from the love of boys, when we deserve to believe in and trust ourselves. I wished we'd had a place where it was safe to talk about our weaknesses. Where it was cool to be yourself, because after all it is in our weaknesses that the Water of Life runs deep. I wished someone sat me down and told me what heartbreak was like, ...

As this is the day to celebrate mother's I think of my own incredible mother, by whom my entire being praises for her lifelong commitment to her three children. I think of Skip's mother. Emily's mother. Nick's mother. Katie's mother. All the mothers who have fought the evils of this world to raise beautiful children. Mothers who have voluntarily taken me in as their own. I think of a dear friend of mine, a mother of two sweet children. I think of another friend who has agreed to, in a few short months, single-handedly take on the role of a mother. I also remember another woman who has lovingly given her own for another woman unable to conceive. And another who adopted from the deserts of Ethiopia. There is another who has so desperately wanted to love as only a mother can, only to be crushed after a heartbreaking miscarriage. Yet, I am also reminded of the young woman who refused her motherhood and shut the door through abortion. And I think of friends who are anxio...

I watched a documentary on the misrepresentation of women through media just the other night. There's so much I want to teach the girls in my classroom. And when I look into the future, so much I want to teach my daughters. I want to teach them to chase their dreams and never, ever stop. And that it takes bravery and courage to always be kind and loving. It's not easy, but no good thing comes easy. And that there is only One who is faithful to the end and will carry us through, and for Him and with Him we can bust out of the mold and carve a new path. As I read through my blogger dashboard of recent blog posts I came across this inspiring entry from Emily T. Weirenga: A Woman's Manifesto (and launching A Dare to Love Yourself) As a woman living in the 21st century  I will live as though I have a thousand daughters,  even though I have none, because every girl is my daughter and when she sees me, or engages with me, she's looking to me for how to live.  S...