One mid-afternoon a few weeks ago, the warmer temperature beckoned me outside. Amelia was about due for a nap, so I secured her snug against my chest, walked down our lane and back, and headed toward the wooden swing in our woods that overlooks the ravine. After rocking for a while, we emerged from the woods into [...]
The Christmas tree still stands in the living room corner because parting with the lights is an annual struggle. But I completed a simple year-end reflection, welcomed the new year by going to bed at 10pm, and have since been thinking about goals and resets and not confusing fresh vision with what I perceive to be the ideal version [...]
Maternity leave is a weird time to start something new (for obvious reasons). So is the month of December, with all her festivity and glow. But there comes a point when you realize that, actually, there is no good time, and if you don’t step into the thing now, you might not ever. – Amelia came [...]
The date on my last blog post (October 1st) wouldn't give you the impression that I've been writing much. And publicly, I haven't. But the last several months, my journal pages have been overflowing with Scripture, punctuated by questions, and a welcome place to articulate the various ways God meets me in all of it. [...]
A curving road bends with the shape of the river, and two minutes on its course and you feel apart from the city, all her rush left behind. Five point five miles worth of towering trees lush with late summer, plowed fields with pockets of rainwater, and occasional groupings of mailboxes and horses, and the [...]
The library wanted their book back. I maxed out the number of renewals allowed (three) and was acutely aware of how many pages I had yet to read (too many to finish without a marathon reading session). So I did what I had to do, stayed in my pajamas, and read. Everyone Brave is Forgiven captured [...]
I watched my 2.5-year-old niece try to poke the straw into the juice pouch, in equal parts clumsiness and determination. Despite multiple asks on my end - "Nora, can I help you with that?" - her eyes stayed fixed on that stubborn yellow straw held tight between her little fist, prodding, slipping, bending. This is [...]
Sometimes change is the rattling kind, the sort that upends your assumption of stability. The kind of change you didn’t anticipate and that requires walking out trust in a faithful God in a whole new way. Plans shift. Relationships sever. We get bad news. Or maybe good news that still seems scary because even though [...]
This Lent, I'm following along with She Reads Truth's study of Isaiah. The opening paragraph of commentary reads: "During Lent, Christians traditionally meditate on Scriptures that point us to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When we see our desperate need for salvation through the lens of a cross and an empty tomb, [...]
Cultivating friendship takes work. Amen. For two years now, we've called a new town "home." The start of that season was rocky in terms of developing relationships with other women - especially coming from such a devoted, small group of friends two hours away. But slowly, I started saying "yes" more than "no" to a [...]
Mallory R. Manning 