When I met Philly Jones two years following my divorce, I was two years past that bookstore experience (story in part one).  In those two years I had bought three things for my house all by myself. A new bed, because the one I had was my wedding gift from my first husband. New linens for my new […]

Every spring Philly and I celebrate our anniversary. I don’t bake. No, seriously, I don’t bake. But a few years ago, in a pinch, because the lady who made our wedding cake couldn’t make our annual anniversary one I found my own recipe. It is so easy! For all you non-bakers I promise even you can [...]

She didn’t come into life rearranging her furniture, but she did come loving beautiful things. I think that’s because her insides are so beautiful that it just naturally seeps out. So, when Home Interiors and Gifts was introduced to her, (think Pampered Chef with mirrors and pictures and candles) it was perfect for her. A […]

Every now and then God invites us into a journey with Him. Rarely are they ones we expect. And, rarely are we able to fully comprehend all that they will unravel and then knit back together again. I was unprepared for all this journey would unearth in my heart. I didn’t know what still needed healing […]

I am not an architect, but I know one. I am not an interior designer, but I love designing interiors. No, I’m just a girl who, ever since she realized that she actually enjoyed interior design when she hung her first picture at the age of forty, has longed to build her own home. To […]

It was their last supper together. Jesus and the twelve. This time together breaking bread was different. Jesus gets up right smack dab in the middle of the meal – Takes off his outer garments. Wraps a towel around His waist. Fills a basin with water. And begins to wash his disciple’s feet. Even the […]

If you look really close at this picture, you can see the fear in my eyes and the fear in my smile. Fear is a thief. I’ve known him a long time. At times I’ve allowed him to rummage through my chest of drawers taking some priceless items. Other times I’ve attacked him with vengeance […]

Sitting here with a cup of hot tea, on the last day before the Christmas tree comes down, I take a few minutes to ponder, as I do on this day each year, the ways God has been present, real, working… On some days it feels as if 2020 has mocked us. It came in […]

Can you still love me if I didn’t vote like you? That’s an elephant in the room question that will be hovering over our holiday meals, lingering inside our sanctuaries and meandering the halls of our office buildings (if you actually still go to yours) for a while. What has been shocking has been many […]

Unpacking boxes is like trying to chew edamame. It only seems to grow. When I finally got all of the boxes out of the bedroom, I realized I had simply put half of them in the hallway. There’s a different smell here. A mixture of fresh paint and strangers. Poor Sophie has sniffed every orifice […]

Moving… I walked up the stairs, past my bonus-son’s room and down the hall to my office. It had a different sound this morning. It echoed. As if hollow. It even smelled different. A mixture of cardboard and forgotten dust. Why? Because we are moving. There’s a piece of me that is so excited I’m […]

This past Saturday my former husband passed away. I knew he had been sick, but you are never prepared for a moment like this. This moment, however, is layered with a depth of emotion and complexity that has been unsettling. I have been honest about the pains of divorce. I truly do not know how […]