Joy as a way of being in the world

Joy as a way of being in the world

I love the first walk out with the kids when the snow melts. Pressing on thin ice till it breaks. Wading into puddles. Dropping snow into running water to see how long it takes to break through. I love the way that spring breaks through the winter, and we feel renewed...
Living in the joy of the beautiful mess

Living in the joy of the beautiful mess

Photo Credit: Charlize Perrault Mess is a theme in my life, and therefore also in my barefoot preaching. I think I return to the theme because mess challenges me so deeply. While I grew, I found relief in order, comfort in control, rest in simplicity. And I wandered...
Resurrection practice in the wake of surviving suffering

Resurrection practice in the wake of surviving suffering

Photo Credit: Becky Stevenson When I think about the long list of things I need to practice, resurrection has never made the list. But I have been returning to the theme year after year in my writing. In 2017, I wrote about not being ready to rise. The next year, I...
Joy is actually dangerous, and I need to do it anyway

Joy is actually dangerous, and I need to do it anyway

Joy is an Easter feeling and a virtue in my faith tradition. For reasons fairly obvious to me, it is not the leading line in any description anyone would ever write about me. After all the fasting and sacrifice of Lent, I am worn out before the fifty days of Easter...
Clinging to the promise of joy in the midst of grief

Clinging to the promise of joy in the midst of grief

Last night, I removed my sister’s name from the Christmas address list.  I was clinging to the letters of her name typed into a cell in a spreadsheet.  I pressed the delete key slowly and then moved her children to new lines.  Tears streamed down my cheeks.  She died...