Know what I realized lately? So much of the creative process (and life) is about getting out of your head and following your heart. Noticing your inner critic—who says you can’t make anything original/you’re not talented/you don’t have a story to tell/you can’t finish that project/etc.—and flipping her script. Talking back, then moving ahead. WannaContinue reading “Spring cleaning”
Keep practicing
Writing is a lot like yoga. Want to do crow pose? You have to put in time on the mat before taking flight. So you practice & practice & practice. You come to your mat and put in the work. It takes courage. Discipline. Some days you fall. Some days it seems like you’re neverContinue reading “Keep practicing”
The boy who lived
For so many—myself included—Mother’s Day is complicated. The day I became a mother was … complicated. After hours of labor and an emergency C-section, I almost lost my son. He wasn’t breathing when the doctor delivered him. I kept waiting to hear his cries, but all I heard was silence. Then nurses calling for backup.Continue reading “The boy who lived”
A change of forecast
Usually when we come home from work and daycare it’s straight indoors for dinner, bath, stories, bedtime. But tonight the May showers broke, the air was warm and it smelled like daffodils and sweet, wet grass. Tonight we lingered outdoors. You toddled around the sidewalk, marveled at the growing plants and dug in the garden,Continue reading “A change of forecast”
My call story
Recently I was asked to share my call story with some young people in the church. Because in my professional life I usually write stories about others, it was a fun exercise to spend time reflecting on the course of my life, my faith and my sense of vocation. Oftentimes I choose to blog about myContinue reading “My call story”
Marriage after baby
“So… what’s your marriage like now?” I remember asking friends after they had babies. Since we became a family of three, I’m finding the answer to this question isn’t easy to distill into a soundbite. It’s better as a story . . . On our first date after Jack was born, my husbnd I tryContinue reading “Marriage after baby”
Fear and great love
“Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.” ―Frederick Buechner If we were having coffee right now, I’d tell you the emotion I’ve been battling most lately is fear. Fear is an uncomfortable emotion to harbor: Fear tells us we are weak and insignificant. Fear makes us believe are powerless.Continue reading “Fear and great love”
Ashes to ashes
Valentine’s Day: here we are writing love notes/smelling roses/eating candy and then we hear about another senseless school shooting. The news shakes us. It breaks us. It reminds us we are but dust, and to dust we shall return. Our parents, our friends, our children — dust. We are so hungry for good news… andContinue reading “Ashes to ashes”
The wonder of one
Jack, today is your first birthday. One year ago your daddy and I were on our way to Lutheran General Hospital so I could give birth to you. (You were in my tummy, but you decided it was time to come out!) At 8:05 p.m., when you finally took your first breath, we cried tearsContinue reading “The wonder of one”
A note to myself, before I became a mama
Jack’s first birthday falls at end of this month. The thought of this had me sobbing hard in bed last week while he slept peacefully in his room. (This seemed strangely ironic, given our sleep struggles.) Many of the courageous, creative mamas I follow have written notes to their pre-mom selves that IContinue reading “A note to myself, before I became a mama”
Erin Strybis 