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Upside Down
by Calah Schlabach | Apr 20, 2014 | Placeless
This is why we remind each other of what we already know—so we can remember what it means: We might grieve now, but death won’t win.
The Games We Play
by Mary Margaret Healy | Apr 19, 2014 | Placeless
The human imagination is a wonderful thing. It may have its greatest power in the mind of a child, building games out of nothing, but it never outlives its usefulness.
Good Friday
by Matt & Laura Hubers | Apr 18, 2014 | Placeless
Anne Lamott quoted Barbara Johnson: “We are Easter people living in a Good Friday world.” Here’s the thing: in our Good Friday world, awful things happen.
Grace Under Pressure
by Geneva Langeland | Apr 17, 2014 | Michigan
Harvests were tallied. And fruit farmers hauled in a bumper crop of blueberries, apples, and peaches—the pent-up energies of their formerly ravaged orchards.
On The National
by Andrew Knot | Apr 16, 2014 | Chicago, Hungary
Here’s the thing about the critics: They’re right. The National groans. Sometimes Berninger doesn’t quite sing the lyrics. And the lyrics rarely make sense.
Showing Up
by Sarah (VanderMolen) Sundt | Apr 15, 2014 | Grand Rapids
So thank you, Anne, for inspiring me on Friday to laugh, to show up (I almost didn’t come to the talk. Isn’t that silly?), and to tell my version of things.
Relient K’s Collapsible Lung
by Will Montei | Apr 14, 2014 | Placeless
Pop is like soda-pop. It’s sugary sweet, easy to consume, addictive, nutrition-empty, and makes you feel sick to the stomach if you’ve had too much.
Dr. Seuss, Ph. D.
by Melissa Dykhuis | Apr 13, 2014 | Placeless
Today I rewrote that paper for my son, Matthew, describing its major findings in the voice of his favorite first author: Dr. Seuss (Ph. D.?).
Seen & Heard at FFW
by Abby Zwart | Apr 12, 2014 | Grand Rapids
The rustle of everyone sitting up straighter and reaching for a pen when an author says something profound. Those pens scratching on paper in unison.
From the Festival of Faith and Writing
by Elaine Schnabel | Apr 11, 2014 | Grand Rapids
I also remembered what this little family was like—this community of faithful writers. It’s a beautiful community, and it’s one to which I belong.
Rebooting the Cosmos
by David Greendonner | Apr 10, 2014 | Placeless
Tyson’s narration meanders back and forth from the local to the cosmic, and spends not a small amount of time biographing members of the scientific pantheon.
Young Love
by Bart Tocci | Apr 9, 2014 | Massachusetts
Finally, a girl asked me to dance. I was always taught to ‘respect women,’ so we danced with our arms outstretched, creating a mini Arc de Triomphe on the outskirts of the floor.
On Owning Lizards
by Caroline (Higgins) Nyczak | Apr 7, 2014 | Hungary
I now understand this to be a painless and defensive maneuver, but at the time I was utterly traumatized. The tail continued to wiggle and squirm in the cage for several minutes.
Quick Stress, Slow Stress
by Josh deLacy | Apr 6, 2014 | Michigan, Washington
One thing I miss about school is stress. Quick stress. The kind that comes from five deadlines in four hours. Quick stress that keeps you worried at night—Do I know game theory? Should I revise again? Will she curve the test? Quick stress that keeps you too busy to...
Ode to Rainy Mornings
by Alissa Anderson | Apr 5, 2014 | California, Indiana, New York
And then, finally, it came: a few days above freezing, and then a glorious morning when I wake slowly from a deep, sound sleep to a dull, grey morning.
Aquavitae: My Life in Four Drinks
by Andrew Steiner | Apr 4, 2014 | Indiana, Michigan
Standing at the altar, holding hands, we repeated the ancient formula, and then we knelt, we opened our mouths to receive the host and took the chalice to our lips.
A Time to Laugh
by Sabrina Lee | Apr 3, 2014 | France
I could have lectured Laurent on the dangers of objectification, complete with a bibliography and citations.I could have bared my carefully-honed feminist fangs.
Inside Tax Season
by Jacob Schepers | Apr 2, 2014 | Placeless
I’m the son of a CPA, an accountant for the people, a number cruncher for democracy. I grew up knowing April 15 as a national holiday.
Nervous Laughing
by Amy (Allen) Frieson | Apr 1, 2014 | New York
I laughed, my nervous response when I’m not sure of social protocol in a particular situation. My guard was up. My brain said, Who is this guy?
Dirty Hands
by Paul Menn | Mar 31, 2014 | Hungary
Physical labor drains you, and it gave me a pure, restful sleep. I awoke refreshed, renewed. Getting my hands dirty had given me release.
Girl
by Sarah Fennema | Mar 30, 2014 | New Zealand
I just started working as a structural engineer. I am a girl. I am not a girly girl, but I certainly am a girl. Somehow, in a lot of people’s minds, those two don’t go together.
Feral Histories and Open Gates
by Ryan DeVries | Mar 29, 2014 | China
Grandpa’s tapestry of a Daoist exorcist is misunderstood. That July, I knew just enough to recognize Zhong-Kui was special and nothing more.
The Funeral Singer
by Stephen Mulder | Mar 28, 2014 | Placeless
I may not have known anything at all about the person in the casket before the service begins. But during the hour that follows I will get to know her.
March Madness
by Brad Zwiers | Mar 27, 2014 | Placeless
Coach and player, mentor and mentee, human being and human being. It reminds me that sports, in the end, do not matter. But also that they do.
A Night at the Lanes
by Griffin Jackson | Mar 26, 2014 | Placeless
I found myself standing across the counter from a twenty-something in a red bowling shirt last Saturday night. His name was probably Mike. He just looked like a Mike.
Equality
by Bethany Tap | Mar 25, 2014 | Michigan
Whether you agree with Judge Friedman’s decision or not, it must be stated that the tides are turning on the fight for marriage equality.
On Choosing Your Future
by Lauren (Boersma) Harris | Mar 24, 2014 | Placeless
Anyone who has watched Harry Potter knows that the wizard doesn’t choose the wand. The wand chooses the wizard. And this is obviously the same for colleges.
How to Go, and How to Stay
by Jenn Langefeld | Mar 23, 2014 | Illinois
I lived in a little southern Illinois town with my nose pressed against a window. I hated second grade, with its D’Nealian script, phonics dittos, and dodgeball.
Keep: A Word Study
by Robert Zandstra | Mar 22, 2014 | Placeless
“The Lord bless you and keep you.” “Honor the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” “If you love me you will keep my commandments.”
Recommendations from Narnia
by Libby Stille | Mar 21, 2014 | Minnesota
I’ve adopted an excellent form of escapism. I’ve been reading a lot, and I’m going to tell you about a few of my recent favorites.
