I taught a course last semester called Vocational Orientation—a course designed to help students uncover their divinely appointed callings in life. I began with…
Psalms in the Dark
Family / Ordinary Life / Safe Place / Work and Rest
I’ve always thought of myself as intuitive because that is how I score on all personality tests. It is supposed to bless me with…
Offhanded Joy
Community / Faith / Hospitality / Maturity and Flourishing / Ordinary Life / Safe Place / Work and Rest
Dedicated: To my friends who helped the homeless of Louisiana. To those whose ate mangoes on a beach in Hawaii while their water pipes…
Over the Rainbow
Community / Creation / Maturity and Flourishing / Ordinary Life / Work and Rest
Over The Rainbow Something died in the guts of our house. As it ripened and decayed, Denis searched for it in among the cobwebs…
Moments of Perfection…Almost
Community / Ordinary Life / Work and Rest
Have you ever experienced this? Occasionally something occurs which seems to carry not a single flaw. Amidst all the brokenness of life an oasis…
The cost of creativity
Some people are good at catchy titles and headlines, but I am not. I complained earlier this week over the effort it took to…
Faster
Creation / Ordinary Life / Safe Place / Work and Rest
Faster [This essay first appeared in the December 1999 issue of Notes From Toad Hall.] December is a bad month for speed and stress.…
Listening Before Writing
I have a new journal, creamy white lined pages in a black moleskin cover with an elastic band that holds it closed. A much…
Bird Feeders
A few months back a young couple spent a weekend with us at Toad Hall. Scott had graciously come to help us plaster and…
The Journey Homeward
Suddenly you know you’re going in the wrong direction. You look back and remember… a place of clatter and quiet, of work and rest,…