Holly A. Grantham writes beautiful, rich prose that runs deep. And she does it without making it look hard. One of the things I love most about this series is the opportunity to introduce you all to the bloggers I love to read, in hopes that you will too. Add Holly to your list, will you? In all respects, I should have been a spoiled child. I was a surprise baby (child number five), with ten years separating me and my next oldest sibling. And if you’ve ever listened to the worn … [Read more...]
These are the days of holding the deep portions. The days where your husband walks the kids to the park and on the way his phone lights up with the worst kind of news. Tragedy. A friend’s life ended. And like that, he arrives at the playground, where his kids run and pour sand and swing so high they’re almost to Mars. These are the days when the hard news comes fast and abrubt, in the grocery store parking lot. The friend from way back who has suffered long is now waiting for the end. You … [Read more...]
I first bonded with Katie Noah Gibson over our similar lives, both West Texas girls who found ourselves on the East coast, navigating the giant cultural gap between the two. I think her words today were just for me. And I think they might be just for you too. For a lifelong reader, I came late to the work of Madeleine L'Engle. I didn't have a taste for fantasy as a child, so I never read A Wrinkle in Time or any of its sequels. For years, I didn't know that Madeleine had written … [Read more...]
I love Annie Barnett because the kindness that shows up in her writing and visual art is an actual reflection of who she is. I love her because she is an artist soul and when you see her illustrations, you feel a sort of hope. Last year, she wrote here about the sacred work of creating. So happy to have her back again today. A decade ago, I took the helm of a public school fourth grade classroom. Along with the curriculum, I was handed several dozen workbooks filled with sample … [Read more...]
A couple of months ago, I had a conversation about my book with a former professor, a writing mentor. We were trying to get at the heart of this story I’m trying to tell in my memoir. Yes, it’s about prayer and losing it and finding it again in an entirely new, hope-giving way. But what’s underneath that? Why did prayer become something I was so afraid of? My former professor asked me this question on the phone: “Micha, what was—what is—the psychological enemy in … [Read more...]
Mihee Kim-Kort is whip-smart, kind, and somehow able to get at the nitty gritty of theology in a vulnerable and approachable way. Every time I read her work, I'm challenged by it. And I consider it an honor to host her today. Most of my life, I have struggled with wanting to belong. To the group of cool kids. To the group of smart kids. To the group of athletic kids. To the group of Christians. To the group of cool, smart, preppy, white Christians. My parents were the … [Read more...]
I have a new post up at a Deeper Church about Pentecost, the daily physical stuff of life, and the question my son's Sunday School asks him every week: "Are you ready to worship God?" “’I will not take you out of the world.’ There are enormous implications here that I can so easily neglect. Christ was a carpenter for most of his life, and those years were not wasted ones…. Christianity does not isolate the sacred from the secular. Not only are material things good in themselves, … [Read more...]
If you follow my Twitter feed, you know I retweet whatever Addie Zierman has just posted on her blog just about every day. I can't help it. I'm a fan-girl. Also, I'm her friend. Our lives in the Church have mirrored each other's in so many important ways. And every time I come to her story, I'm learning something new about myself. And really, what better praise can you give a writer? By the time I was my son’s age, I knew about Moses and the Red Sea, and I knew about David and … [Read more...]
I’ve spent a lot of time getting to know my head. All my life, my thoughts have been ferocious and loud, clanging inside my skull, daring me to control them. All my life, I’ve understood that they’d calm if I could pull them out like Professor Dumbledore with his sieve, reaching in and plucking forth the silver slither of a thought. Writing is like that for me. It’s bearing forth what’s rattled in me, setting it under the light and taking a good look at it. It’s scientific work. I … [Read more...]
Leigh Kramer sees the world in a lovely way. I am always reading her posts and saying, "Oh, I never thought of it like that" and I'm so grateful for her voice. Also, we are TV watching kindreds, especially when it comes to shows I'm a little embarrassed to say I love. Welcome Hopefulleigh! So happy to have you here. People described me as shy when I was younger but I disagreed. I wasn't scared to talk with folks; I was selectively friendly. I'm the first to admit I'd observe before … [Read more...]
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