I told a student yesterday, "I know this may sound strange to you, but after you pass 40, you have to stop to think about how old you are when your birthday comes around." Her response was shocked, "No way!! I am sure that will not happen to me!"

But 16 years isn't that hard to keep track of. What about when your life collects decades? I sat this morning with pen in hand, paper, thoughts, feelings...I let myself sit with my collective years. Flying over the story of my life. There were tears. And gratitude. It’s tough to reconcile another birthday as I grieve the lives of those I have lost over months and years of living.

As soon as we passed the sign that said “Gently Used Books,” Scott drifted onto the shoulder, glanced in the rear view, and made that wide U-turn.

“I’m guessing you want to stop.”

Used book stores are an unspoken expectation. Every trip we take involves buying a book from a local used book store. I write the story on the front page of each find.

Scott and I talked at length about this trip to Maine and established one rule: “The only plan we have is not to have a plan.”

Are you starting the school year tired? Do you feel guilt creep up when you try to take time to tend to your anxiety, fears, and grief? Have you forgotten what you love to do, what brings you to life, and what you were made to offer to the world?

The best gift you can give to your family is a three-dimensional self who inspires those around you to thrive because you are thriving.

If you are going to watch a meteor shower, it’s not a bad idea to observe it in a solitary spot overlooking Taunton Bay in Sullivan, ME. A glass of blueberry-infused wine, your best friend, no humidity, sweatshirts…and a good pair of steady binoculars.

Like small blue flakes drifting slowly across the atmosphere, one after another after another, crisscrossing by each other across the dark expanse. Help me, please. Add a few shooting stars into the mix of magic, and you are officially wonder-full.

My grandmother was diagnosed with polio when she was a tiny kid. I still picture her sitting in her tweed, olive green armchair, legs crossed, wearing one big black shoe.

"What do you need right now?"

This is a question I ask my clients. When I was a counselor in a high school, I used to ask this question to students when they would wander into my office and throw themselves down on the futon. All dramatic like. It started with Cheeze-its and went from there.

There are MANY reasons I am ready for Jesus to wrap things up and bring Heaven to Earth, but one visit I can't wait for is sharing a cup of coffee with Philip Yancey. A mentor and hero of mine.

If you have never read a book by Philip Yancey, you need to. Reach out, and I will gladly recommend one of his 30 (+) books! He has been a primary influence on me. I continue to look to him for wisdom in our chaotic times. He leads me back to the truth; he always directs me to Jesus and His heart.

“I may want to drive around and look for rocks tomorrow.”

I washed up on the shores of mid-life and still don’t have a clue about “letting go.”

Preservation and self-protection clench me like a vice grip. Change. Loss. Leaving. Starting over. Moving on. These quakes come like ocean waves, crashing hard, toppling my sense of stability. Life, I’ve learned, is a cycle of receiving and releasing. Yet to open our hands is counter-intuitive and scary. To surrender our ship to the waves, feels irresponsible.

It's been 31 years since I turned my tassel, packed up my Subaru, and hugged my roommates goodbye. The future ahead was blank. There was nothing to hang my imagination on, no job secured, no friends down the hall. Strange. All of us, Cheryl, Cindy, Kris, and Michelle, blown into adulthood, in separate directions, never to share a bathroom again.

Guess who started a not-for-profit recycling business?

Gray and I came up with a plan. Well, I came up with it, she "willingly" participated.

"How about I give you a little clip and clip? We give your fur to the birds for their nests?"

If you have as much as glanced out the window these days, you've seen the sparrows, robins, and wrens scurrying about with twigs, leaves, and other random scraps sideways in their beaks. They flutter off to some secret spot, hopefully out of reach of Blue Jays and Crows 😠 (I know, I know...food chain. Whatever.)

It starts in your head and moves into your chest like a tight squeeze of anxiety. It's no wonder we all feel it. Picture a stick person with 62,364 electric lines plugged into his or her head, each one at full speed.

I got an email a few weeks ago, "Dawn, someone recommended you to be a speaker at an event for our organization. We have a retreat in March. Would you be able to talk for a few minutes this week?"

Who is ​The Sparrow Fund?​ 🤔

Lent isn’t as meaningful as it should be if we are not able to reflect and sit still. It will fly by like every other holiday. My scattered self makes Lent (and any time I am trying to connect with Jesus) a challenge. I feel it all the time.

However, the season of Lent, the rhythm of the sacraments, and the prayers handed down over the centuries harness our wild, impulsive selves. Think of them like a train track. A guide.

If there is one thing we are not doing well within our present age (we could all list out at least 15 things!!) it is patience. As I see it, our inability to wait well is far more destructive than any four-letter word. Harder to identify, but far more septic…

This is a favorite month on the church calendar for me. I am oriented by the days of December that highlight the coming of a Savior. The older I get, the more I realize how much I need a rescue.

Advent is upon us.

Good timing.

With the presidential election behind us, it is time to take a deep breath and remember. It is a robust discipline to reign in our wild thoughts and fix them on the big, bold truth that weaves through Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers...and on and on through every single story in Scripture: Light always overcomes darkness.