by Ashley Larkin | Oct 16, 2013 | 31 Days 2013: Right Here, Faith, Giving, Grace, Gratitude, Poetry, Surrender
Gracious, loving Creator, the one called Great I Am, the powerful All Here Spirit who sees and searches and understands You who are keeper of the seed, stillness of mountain lake and power of oceans, you who whisper in the infant’s ear and are voice in the...
by Ashley Larkin | May 31, 2013 | Childhood, Five Minute Friday, Giving, Love, Parenting
When I was a girl, it was Dotty and Topo and the Chocolate Pizza Factory. In her toddler years, Sici talked at length with pint-sized Sir — the one with springs for feet — and welcomed The Soccer Teamers into the house for dinner after they arrived on...
by Ashley Larkin | Feb 22, 2013 | Giving, Love, Mothering, Perspective
Mama did empathy and compassion. Like breathing, that was what she did. Bending low, beautiful browns cresting tears, she’d say, “Oh, honey, that sounds so hard. How did that make you feel?” And you’d sense her taking in the turns of your eyes...
by Ashley Larkin | Jan 21, 2013 | Community, Concrete Words, Faith, Giving, One Word: Trust, Perspective, Truth-telling
I don’t want to know what I weigh so much as what I weigh in comparison to you. Not on the bathroom scale with the hand jumping from zero, though sometimes I think about that too. More, I wonder how I measure up to you on those scales used in faraway markets and...
by Ashley Larkin | Dec 21, 2012 | Celebration, Childhood, Faith, Family, Giving, Mothering, Perspective, Truth-telling
My Plan B evaporated into a puff of stomping and cursing last night. I lost another post written in my bed, after the one I thought I’d be sharing with you today didn’t materialize. For two days this past week, I held back the hair of my daughters as they...
by Ashley Larkin | Nov 20, 2012 | Celebration, Family, Giving, Perspective
Every year, when I flip the calendar to November, I begin to feel knots wind their way around my stomach. I usually try to pretend it’s not happening. As we near December, the knots tighten, tighten. Though many aspects of the Christmas season fill my heart with...