by Ashley Larkin | Dec 20, 2013 | One Word: Trust, Perspective, Redemption, Surrender, Truth-telling
Perhaps you feel unworthy of Christmas coming into the mess of your home and your heart, and so you need to recall the babe that came down from heaven and through the birth canal into the stench and filth of a stable and a world. You may need to recall this one who...
by Ashley Larkin | Dec 6, 2013 | Biblical tales, Celebration, Childhood, Faith, Five Minute Friday, Hope, One Word: Trust, Open endings, Surrender
As we light the candle at the table’s center, we describe Advent to our girls as “coming,” as in not here yet. And it’s the anticipation of childhood Christmases that I might remember more than Christmas itself. The waiting. The glowing Dickens...
by Ashley Larkin | Nov 20, 2013 | Family, Grace, Mothering, One Word: Trust, Perfectionism, Perspective
Things are pretty ordinary around here lately. Good and full ordinary, but still. Wow, isn’t that like every journalism school example of the lead sentence you shouldn’t write if you want people to read on? But it’s the truth because, as usual,...
by Ashley Larkin | Oct 19, 2013 | 31 Days 2013: Right Here, Childhood, Faith, Family, Grace, Gratitude, Marriage, Mothering, One Word: Trust, Perfectionism, Perspective, Surrender, Trust
This is 31 Days of Right Here, not 31 Days of Hoarding Your Life’s Moments or 31 Days of Not Missing A Single Solitary Thing. As I continue writing, I realize all the ways this 31 days is not a try harder, do more message, but largely an invitation to let go....
by Ashley Larkin | Oct 17, 2013 | 31 Days 2013: Right Here, Faith, Fear, One Word: Trust, Perfectionism, Perspective, Risk-taking, Surrender, Truth-telling
Living right here is a lot like writing right here. It’s hard work, and you hit the wall and wonder if you’re like a marathoner midway through. You recognize the feeling of not being able to get enough air, of feeling lost, of knowing fatigue that’s...
by Ashley Larkin | Oct 2, 2013 | 31 Days 2013: Right Here, Faith, Fear, Imperfect Prose, One Word: Trust, Tell His Story, Trust
I walk downstairs to the kitchen counter where I pick up my phone and check the emails that filled my inbox overnight. I boil the water for coffee, grind the beans, fill the French press and my mug with hot from the tap so they’ll be good and ready. The grounds...
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