The blue scooter under his chubby two-year-old toes gives way to the cement step under him, sending him toppling to the sidewalk.  A brief hesitation to understand his surroundings, and then the wails cry out and the tears fall.  His sister rushes to his side, picks him up and brushes him off.  Once upright, her gentle words come.  "It's ok brother, you're ok. Want a hug brother?"  The older brother ran to the scene too, and set to work, righting the scooter … [Read more...]

Every family had them - in fact, they were so common that the questions surrounding them remained fixed:What kind?  Or when? Or when again? Or who? And of course, the ever-present one....why?Scars. Physical or emotional - no one was without.  It was so common back then, a time when many children died in infancy from illnesses preventable in today's terms.  When a day's work exposed you to dangerous situations, hard toil, and little provision.  And yet, … [Read more...]

I walked in the door and could smell one of the smells I love - Pine Sol.  He had just finished mopping floors and was doing the dishes.  I could hear instrumental music in the background, and instantly my heart was curious - who was this man listening to violins and piano? And then I began to recognize....the tune - I heard that same tune many years ago - nine to be exact.  They day we were married.  He had taken our wedding video and had it converted to DVD (it was in VHS - … [Read more...]

Lent was a term I didn't grow up with and yet it has me broken to pieces.  I am unwound, shattered, heaving in the memory of the Christ-man's donkey ride to impending torment, torture, and death.  He willingly went, and He knew what was to come. My heart aches, screaming for Him to avoid the pain - the betrayal, the denial, the whips ripping flesh and bruising bone. The public display of disgrace turned to flag-waiving, glory-freedom shining bright in … [Read more...]

She asked me how how I will teach my daughter about feminism, and the foundation under me trembled.  You see, it wasn't the idea of teaching my daughter about historical facts of the "feminism movement" - afterall, that's just a history lesson, and she's only six.  No, my foundation shook because of the legacy that movement has left - a legacy of destruction.  What were "we" as women thinking really? - crawling out of despair and discontentment by screaming, "I am … [Read more...]