Nearly seven months ago, a little after two o’clock in the morning and after about twenty-five hours of labor, a soft, warm, pink, little bundle was laid naked on my tummy, with a lusty yell and damp golden-brown curls. And my life was forever changed. There’s a reason I’ve been rather absent from this […]
Babies, motherhood
This winter, I’ve had the privilege of being on the launch team of Cara Meredith’s debut memoir, The Color of Life. Cara and I belong to the same literary agency, and I’ve followed and admired her work since first hearing her as a guest on one of Barb Neal Roose’s podcasts (which are wonderful—check […]
Cara Meredith, James Meredith, racial reconciliation, The Color of Life
Well, it’s the last day of February—the month we take to especially honor and celebrate the heritage and history of African Americans. In the past I’ve written about why to celebrate Black History Month, and some ideas for how. My favorite article for this month remains one written a few years ago by my dear […]
Black History Month, Hidden Figures, Sandra Barnes
If you become a teacher, says Anna Leonowens in the classic musical The King and I, your pupils will end up teaching you. (That’s not exactly how the line goes, but I can’t quote songs on a blog without infringing copyright.) But you get the idea. 🙂 And it’s true. We’re into our […]
Earlier this week, author Barbara Neal Roose, a fellow writer with Books & Such Literary Agency whose encouraging blogs and podcasts have really blessed me—check her out here!—posted a special blog in honor of her birthday. She shared her struggles with past birthdays, how the Lord has helped her come to rejoice over them, […]
Growing up, I loved celebrating the Fourth of July. Most years, my family would head to a nearby large, grassy park late afternoon. We’d watch the small-town parade of veterans and boy scouts and antique cars and children on streamer-bedecked tricycles. One year we even entered ourselves and rode on a “covered wagon” built […]
American History, Declaration of Independence, Fourth of July
My little sister graduated from college last Saturday. It doesn’t seem that long since she was graduating high school—in fact, I posted about it here. She seemed so grown up then, yet now, looking back, the eighteen-year-old Maren appears so young. Today she has a B.A. in Theater Arts, with […]
I hope you are enjoying this series! Read the first installment here. Anthony and I had just had our first date. And I felt rather discouraged. It’s not that we hadn’t had a pleasant time—we had. He’d taken me to see the new movie Saving Mr. Banks, and I’d greatly enjoyed it. I […]
First Dates, Saving Mr. Banks
I didn’t fall in love at first sight with my husband. In fact, when I first saw Anthony, I thought he was interested in someone else. Which he was, at the time. And when we first went out, I was actually interested in someone else. But I’m getting ahead of the story. […]
love at first sight, marriage
It’s raining as I write this, pattering gently down outside the darkened windows of my parents’ white farmhouse-style home. I’m in their cozy guest room upstairs, the one with quilt-covered bed and fireplace and the little antique desk where I’ve done much writing. Though I no longer live in this place, it’s been […]
Fall like the Rain, mercy, rain