by Gwen | Jul 15, 2020 | America, Arkansas, Basics, Brokenness, Challenges, Church, Community, Family, Forgiveness, Freedom, Friendship, Grace, Heathcliff, Home, Hope, Jesus, Joy, Justice, Love, Marriage, Peace, Relationships, Stella, Truth, Uncategorized, Unity, weirdness
Let us be the people who decide to be different from the crowd. Let us be the movers and shakers–the leaders–who show the rest of Arkansas how it’s done. Let us reject the narrative that it has to be either/or. Let us be weird and different from the whole world if that’s what it takes to also be wonderful. We can find the courage in our hearts to lock arms and stand together on the middle ground. Some might say I’m naive, but I know we can do it. Let this be the place where reconciliation begins!
by Gwen | Apr 14, 2020 | Comfort, Community, COVID-19, Friendship, Home, Hope, Love, Relationships, Truth
This is a theme that’s been growing in my mind. Like those bulbs buried all winter in the dark, the other day it finally sprouted. I’d been watching people hoard, criticize, ignore, demand, and blame leaders, especially politicians. Fear and anxiety can spread across the world faster than a virus. I struggled daily trying to figure out my role, to come up with a spiritual vaccine I might offer. What could protect us from losing our better selves in the face of this crisis?
by Gwen | Mar 31, 2018 | Adelaide, Basics, Challenges, Easter, Faith, Family, Grace, Harper, Heathcliff, Holidays, Hunter, Jesus, Kids, Love, Peace, Relationships, Stella, Theology, Truth
I’ve been looking for the essence of Easter. Cleaning out the closet, if you will, and ditching all of the stuff that may be nice, interesting, or appealing to someone else, but for me not really useful. I don’t want to argue about theology. I don’t even want to try to understand everything. I just want Easter in a nutshell, Easter distilled, Easter in its simplest form.
by Gwen | Nov 21, 2017 | Authenticity, Basics, Church, Community, Faith, Friendship, Holidays, Jesus, Jim Ford, Kids, Love, Relationships, Thankfulness, Uncategorized
This is a picture of some of the world’s greatest body builders, all assembled in one place for an early Thanksgiving dinner. The little church building on the corner of where highways 309 and 23 meet in Ozark–Webb City Baptist–can’t contain them all at once anymore. Lifting weights, after all, makes you grow.
by Gwen | Apr 22, 2017 | Authenticity, Education, Friendship, Gratefulness Project, Literature, Love, Motherhood, Paola Gemme, Relationships, Students, Uncategorized
This is Paola. Dr. Paola Gemme. We met when she walked in the door of Witherspoon 108 to teach Immigrant Literature, a class I was in for my master’s. I thought she was fascinating with her impeccable style–she wore these amazing Italian clothes–and...
by Gwen | Mar 16, 2017 | Basics, Family, Gratefulness Project, Kids, Love, Motherhood, Relationships
I am grateful I have no time. Really. This is the conclusion I’ve reached after much careful deliberation.
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