The Birth of a Song

[Editorial note: I’m kinda breaking my own rules for the #write31days challenge today; this one isn’t an sight or moment that recalls a memory, but just the moment itself—the anecdote was too good to dilute by tying it to another memory. I’ll blame Jonathan Rogers, who asked the other day why I need to connect the moments to memories (I […]

Kneading

I spent an hour or so this afternoon crushing graham crackers. If you’ve never done it, crushing graham crackers is harder than it looks. I will blame the shortness of this post on my tired hands that don’t want to type, rather than on the fact that I’m plumb tuckered out. There was no rolling pin and only flimsy plastic […]

Backdrop

I’ve spent a significant portion of the past two days sitting in a sanctuary at a church in Nashville which I can only describe as “warm.” It is a building which seems to stretch its arms out in welcome. The older parts of it are made of wood that holds the patina of the years. In the sanctuary itself, a […]

Seasons

I drove into the North Carolina mountains today and watched the beginning of autumn as I did so. Green maples tipped with red, birches shading to gold. The speckles of the light shining through the green canopy. Here and there and evergreen staying strong, Remaining what it was. Forever. When I was in college, we took a trip to the […]

Exchange

In our study this week, my Bible study group looked at the passage in Romans that says, “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Rom. 1:25). I wrote a note in the margin of my book: Jane Eyre. I adore the novel Jane Eyre. I have multiple copies and […]

Flowers in October

I’ve been smelling it for over a week now. I took a trip out to my car to get a phone charger the other day and I found myself slowing my pace just so that I could spend more time breathing in the scent. And I couldn’t figure out what it was. October’s been glorious in Charlotte. I’ve put in […]

Words, Words, Words

I learned a new word today. I love learning new words, particularly when they’re multi-syllabic and fun to say. Today’s word was “concatenation.” Both multi-syllabic and fun (and defined as a series of interconnected things or events). Evidently, listening to NPR does make you smarter. It reminded me of some of my favorite words of the past and my adventures […]

The Phone Booth

I stopped at a mountain gas station this morning, between hillsides spread with leaves about to turn spotted with the scarlet flashes of the precocious maples. At the corner of the building, empty of its original instrument, was a phone booth. I was reminded of the path from the road up to my university campus. The campus, prior to being […]

Gelato

I went out with a friend today, ostensibly for coffee and gelato, but neither of us had had lunch so we both ended up with sandwiches. Upon completing our sandwiches, we moved on to cappuccinos, but decided to give the gelato a pass—this time. However, our delightful waiter—who from time to time during the meal would seem to randomly stop […]