Tales From the Trenches

The other day I was working out. The perfectly sculpted, thirty-something instructor on the video in front of me cheerfully shouts at me that I can do it! I have been working strenuously for twenty-six minutes, but there is one more challenge ahead. It’s only one hundred seconds! she says. You can do anything for …READ MORE

Somewhere along the way I develop a picture of what this season of my life, of what my family, should look like by now. Maybe it’s that I expect a certain yield (of myself and of them)—a particular culmination to appear along a linear timeline in filtered perfection. Well, that timeline can appear to unravel …READ MORE

Today’s first reading from the 1 Samuel is the story about Hannah, the mother of the prophet, Samuel. As she was in the temple begging God for a son, the priest Eli noticed her desperate manner and asked if she was drunk. Hannah vowed that if God granted her a son, she would dedicate him …READ MORE

Growing up in a family of five children meant that our weekends were always busy, and the older everyone became, the busier we all were. Between 4-H activities, sports (games and practices), sleepovers, homework, and yardwork, Sunday easily became just another day to hold the activities that needed to happen. When I was in the …READ MORE

“One, two, three, four, five . . .” At my family’s gatherings, before we pray, we count-off. When I was a kid, counting off was quite the exciting feat. “How many are here this year?” I often wondered. Will we make it to fifty? (Often, we did)! It was also always exciting to hear an …READ MORE

There are Asiatic lilies splayed out on my dining room table this Christmas season, their stark-white petals exploding like stars amongst the evergreen branches and berries. As I turn the corner after descending the stairs into the kitchen, their fragrance envelops me. I can’t really say why I was drawn to this particular bouquet. The …READ MORE