When I was a child, The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton, was my favorite book. In it, a country cottage endures trials (urban sprawl), only to be transported, in the end, to her former life in the paradise of the countryside. The problem with my girlhood love of this book is that it […]
“ ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’ ” Luke 10: 41-42 Six months ago, my aunt sent me this beautiful collage card she made. Inside she wrote, […]
I Corinthians 13 is the famous “love chapter” of the Bible. Its poetry defines love in exquisite detail. I think Mark 10 deserves a similar designation: the “Jesus Loves Me” chapter. In it, right after we watch Jesus drawing the little children close and blessing them, we get to gaze at a person through Jesus’s […]
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 My five-year-old has been memorizing this verse this month, so it is written on the chalkboard near the breakfast table. This morning, as the rain gently hit the windowpanes, I read this verse with new eyes. Of course! That is why I have […]
We bought it because Aunt Debbie cautioned, “Buy a house you could live in forever. Look at me.” It was large for two, but we’ve grown to fit inside its sheltering walls. These baby boys, now big and burrowed deep in my heart, came home here. They’ve gone to play with Granddaddy today, and, strangely, […]
It came to her in a dream. Margaret Wise Brown awoke and captured it in a form near to the one we cherish today. She called her editor, who immediately approved of her genius. Goodnight Moon was born. It is surprising to me that more mothers-to-be don’t paint their nurseries bright green, install red carpet, […]
Yesterday, my boys were showing me video clips they had taken of each other. There was a close-up of my four-year-old’s face. “My favorite person,” he began, with his endearing pre-school mispronunciation of “favorite.” He dropped to a whisper for effect, “is my brother.” My nine-year-old beamed. Even though he gets annoyed with the little […]
I’m afraid I haven’t been blogging much lately. I admit that I haven’t been working steadfastly on my children’s books either. Instead, I’ve been engaged in living a better story. Shortly after Christmas, friends from church gave me a book by Donald Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. It’s not a children’s book, […]
In this New Year, I’ve been slow to step away from the warmth of Christmas into the open expanse of January. It is silly, really, how I think in patterns. I felt somehow safe in the year 2014, because the pattern of that year had been an uplifting one. Now, I am outside its familiar bookends. […]
I am sitting peacefully in my in-laws’ living room now, but a week ago, I was all lit up in Christmas stress. I felt guilty about the stress, for I love Christmas. I tease that I was raised by elves. I start listening to Christmas music as soon as the heat of summer lifts. I […]
A Children's Book World 