A poem for Christmas.
These Shoulders
Sparrow
I am so excited to announce that my second book, Sparrow: Cultivating a Sabbatical Heart, is coming to shelves near you in less than a week! What grace, that God would take a very difficult season and turn it into a blessing—not only for our family, but for anyone who needs to know that there... Continue Reading →
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Lowbrow Poetry
Yesterday I posted a poem. Most of my people aren’t poets, so I feel the need to explain. What is a poem, and why would I write one, and why would I share one, imperfect as it is? Why do I bother to read poetry when I’m not a poet—and why would I say I’m... Continue Reading →
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Dodgeball, Publishing, and the Writing Life
One of the great things about having a teenager is that they're like... people. It is so fun to share common interests with your big old grown up kid. My oldest son and I both like to geek out about writing, and he is making plans for NaNoWriMo this November (National Novel Writing Month, for... Continue Reading →
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Imposter Syndrome
In the early days, to admit that I wanted to be a writer was painfully embarrassing. “What are your hobbies?” someone would ask. “Um, nothing really.” The asker’s eyebrows would freeze into question marks. But I hated being boring, so desperately I’d cast about for a better answer. “I used to jog, but I have... Continue Reading →
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When the noise is too much.
I want to work a little to swim out past the pea-soup fog to get clear. I want to look over my shoulder and see definitively the smog left. behind. I want to head upstream past the sad remains of yesterday’s convenience of accidental casualties of tomorrow’s nightmare. Enough. There are still springs cold as... Continue Reading →
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9 For Nerds: A Book Lover’s Bucket List
Last week we took the kids to a great second hand bookstore called 2nd and Charles. It was vast. Since they weren't bound to recent bestsellers, we found all kinds of treasures that Barnes and Noble doesn't stock and the library has forgotten. I found a great copy of Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping, and my sweet... Continue Reading →
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Dreamer or Pragmatist, Part II
I have been thinking a lot lately about goals. There's been an empire of self-help books built on Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic Timely goals, goals that get results. Michael Hyatt, in his recent book Platform, devotes a good deal of time to the subject, giving helpful examples like: "Make one hundred thousand dollars a year... Continue Reading →
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Isn’t it ironic?
It's really not hard to conjure up an entire place and time with just a few choice words. Who says "bully-o!" anymore? or "grody"? (Well, I might, once in a while, but then I also persist in eating creamed chip beef, so apparently I am not really all that rooted in the times.) Certain foods,... Continue Reading →
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I don't feel like writing, some days. Don't feel like making supper, or cleaning out the refrigerator and identifying the source of that smell. Don't feel like doing much of anything, truth be told, but snugging up under the covers and reading about somebody else... somebody who does something besides pull up the covers. So... Continue Reading →
Catherine's Letters 