This year, we spent spring break at the beach: surrounded by soft, white sand, brilliant blue skies, and water. So much water. Blue. Warm. Sometimes still like a swimming pool. Other times surging with energy. This beach time was therapy for a frozen Minnesota girl. I loved our beach time. I loved watching my children … Continue reading Jumping In
Last week, my husband and I packed our three children into the minivan to make a two-day trek to Florida. After escaping frozen Minnesota, our van hurtled down the highway slicing through Iowa's brown farm fields. The sun, still golden, dipped closer to the horizon. Dark grey clouds cloaked most of the sun's fading light. … Continue reading Presence
A few weeks back, I wrote about finding myself living in the ellipses- the ". . ." - a time in-between what was and what is to come. I struggle with the slowness of this time. I have a feeling that I am not alone. Have you found yourself in an in-between time--that space between … Continue reading Leaning into the Wait
Recently, I opened up a magazine from my alma mater to peek at the section of class news. I was happy for those who are making partner and who are accomplishing great things in the world. But standing in the kitchen in my pajamas instead of in a downtown office with a twenty-mile view, I … Continue reading Living in the Ellipses ( you know, the . . . )
I wonder if the power of the Scripture's stories is not that they happened once upon a time, but that they happen. They have happened; they are happening; and they will happen. Like the story about Jesus taking the hand of the dead/sleeping girl and saying: "My child, get up!" Wake up. Wake up. Live … Continue reading On Waking
The language that we use to describe God and faith and Jesus seems especially worn out sometimes. Sometimes I wish that we could just start over with a new vocabulary. But then there are times when we are given new eyes to see these words in a different light. When we experience these words in the depths of our hearts. And the words become new. And we become new. That is the power at the heart of these most potent words. "Believe" is one such word for me.
Am I selfish for staying home from church on Sunday mornings? This question hit me with force the other night. I love my Sunday mornings. I love them a lot. My reasons for leaving church behind on Sunday mornings differ from the reasons that I still am home while my husband takes our three kids … Continue reading Oxygen Mask
As I puttered around in that old flannel shirt, I thought back to who I was 20 years ago. 20 years ago, I was full of ideas and passion and ideals. The future was wide open. I had a plan and knew what I was going to be when I grew up. The plan was lost a long time ago and replaced with a new plan, which was also lost. Now I don't have a plan. The future is still wide open. This is both exhilarating and embarrassing. I'm letting go of the embarrassed. I am thankful that I am still becoming.
I stumbled across this prayer twice in the last few weeks. Once in Barbara Brown Taylor's book Learning to Walk in the Dark and the other in Ruth Haley Barton's book Sacred Rhythms. I love this. Everything about it. It seems like a good way to start out a new year. My Lord God, I … Continue reading A Prayer from Thomas Merton
What am I here for today? Sometimes I wake up with that prayer on my heart. It's a prayer I would like to wake up with every day. What am I here for today? This morning, an answer came to me: You are not here to wash the floors, to fold the laundry, or to … Continue reading What am I here for today?
Jessica Sanborn 