When we first moved to Dallas, we made some colorful friends who were actors at Scarborough Renaissance Festival- King Henry and a Contessa, to be exact. During October, the Scarborough Fair grounds become a spooky maze of haunted houses, Scary-oke, expensive food vendors, and a throng of tweens looking to snuggle up to their crush …
Tuesday, 7/11/2023, Nashville Airport 2:08 pm I wasn’t anxious about this until we popped open the back of my sister’s van. It’s not the actual flying that concerns me. The Baby is almost chronically un-anxious, as in, he is not anxious even when he probably should be, like when he tries to drown himself by …
January 23, 2023 Dear Mr. Sedaris, My son, {The Baby}, came screeching into the world via an emergency c-section at 26 weeks- a two-pound potato whose vital organs needed lots of assistance to keep him alive. I met him for the first time four months later, when his birthmother invited me to visit the Neonatal …
I remember talking about atheism and agnosticism in my world religions class in high school. In my little conservative corner of West Texas, we didn’t spend much time talking about the godless heathens, but I remember the description of Clockmaker god, who designed the world, perfectly calibrated all of it’s gears and dials, and then …
Let me preface the beginning of this series with a few things: I’m gonna take weekends off for my “writing every day” goal in November. I can do this because I’m a grown ass woman and I want to. I want to explicitly acknowledge that I have AMAZING parents who did the best with what …
Last August, my little family met my parents in Estes Park. We have done this trip every couple of years since I was a kid. We stay in cabins and hike and explore and breathe in the fresh mountain air. COVID made things a little different, but we were just happy to escape Dallas for …
Well, today the Wise family said hello to a new bed and goodbye to two of The Baby’s teeth. A few months ago, we started the laborious process of getting a SleepSafe bed approved through The Baby’s insurance because his crib had become unsafe. He was able to stand up in it and when he …
The Baby turned five this week. It’s crazy. All of those five years tend to blur together. After all, time flies when you’re drowning in medical chaos (just kidding…kind of). On the night of his birthday, our dinner conversation centered around remembering all of his firsts- the first time he sat up, the first solid …
(You can listen to an audio version of this post here.) I went to David’s Bridal today to purchase a bridesmaid’s dress for a friend’s wedding next summer. She had a dress already picked out in the system so they pulled her profile up and I followed the very nice saleslady to the racks laden …
(I realize this is very lengthy so I have strategically placed pictures of smiling animals throughout the piece so that you can mark your place if you need to take a break and come back to it. At my sister’s suggestion, I’ve also made an audio version of this blog. You can download/stream it by …
I grew up in West Texas- land of wide-open spaces, sky high teen pregnancy rates, and a colorblind racial ideology that masks racism instead of confronting it. In colorblind ideology, it is impolite to talk about someone’s race. I remember hearing a story about a friend who was trying to tell her son which store …
I just got back from San Francisco. I went to (hides face) a Christian conference. I found myself hesitant to tell people that it was a Christian conference because of the connotations of that. My sense is that many Christian conferences are lame attempts at pep rallies for God, the adult version of church camp, …
“What was I thinking?” I thought as I stared forlornly into the mirror. I should have known better than to impulsively stop at the hair salon directly adjacent to the Tom Thumb, still clutching my bag of avocados. I was hoping for a cute haircut before I left on my 10th anniversary weekend trip. Instead, …
I was a mere 21 years old when I got married. My uncle officiated our wedding. Before the wedding, my then-fiancee, now-husband, Alex, and I drove down to Corpus to do some premarital counseling sessions and stay with my aunt and uncle. After one of these sessions, Alex and I got ready to leave and …
I went to a vigil in Balch Springs for Jordan Edwards last week. It was everything you would want a vigil to be- beautiful and sad and moving and comforting. Like most, I was horrified by Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice’s deaths. I have been deeply affected before by deaths caused by police brutality, but …
I’ve joined a house church. Don’t worry, don’t worry, I’m still at FBC Bryan but this house church is quickly becoming my place to get spiritually fed. We’re based on authentic relationships, meaning real. Not the mask-wearing kind of relationships that happen sometimes at institutional churches. We’re based on active faith- taking what we’re learning … Continue reading
What the heck is going on with me? Why am I liking things that I used to not, and not liking things that I used to love? If you can tell me, let me know. EDIT: I spoke too soon. I have just read an Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem. It’s one of God’s many love … Continue reading
In my continuing narrative of the homeless, tonight me and my amigo nuevo, little Tim, took lasagna, french bread, and ice cream over to the guy’s house for dinner. We shot the breeze a little bit, ate some food, talked about how long it had been since they’d had ice cream. Big Tim, who owns the … Continue reading
Look: Johnny Kenny Tim Like I said, the response I’ve gotten to asking for money and stuff for these men has been awesome. We took another load over there yesterday that included a microwave! It was interesting cause they were excited about the food and stuff for about 5 minutes and then they wanted to … Continue reading
Just to let you know the dual nature of my classes this semester… In Music class, we had a sitar and tabla player (traditional Indian instruments) come and play for us today. It was awesome and beautiful. In Russian Art on Monday, we watched a ballet where a fawn made love to a scarf. Disparities? … Continue reading
I’ve rediscovered my homeless buddies. By chance (okay, I don’t believe in chance but you know what I mean) I ran into Johnny B, the handicapped black man that rocks my face off, on the street one day. He told me where the men at the shelter were living (since the mens’ dorm at the … Continue reading
If you would like to receive this e-card from me on September 9, then I will gladly send it to you. Continue reading
When did we stop being “fishers of men” and start being “ropers of men (like in the rodeo)? In considering this offer by Christ to the first disciples, I began to think about Christ’s “witnessing” style. He never did the same thing twice. He didn’t have a formula, and more importantly, He didn’t teach His … Continue reading
I have just finished sewing the most ill fitting skirt I have ever seen. I find it interesting that I probably have the same sense of accomplishment as if it would have fit perfectly. This paradox works for me. For now, I will stick to making pants into capris. Continue reading
These words are not my words. This love is not my love. This strength is not my strength. This life is not my life. It is Yours. Continue reading
welderbeth 