by Ashley Larkin | Jan 4, 2014 | Community, Faith, One Word: Seek, Open endings, Risk-taking, Truth-telling
Hello, friends. I never intended to be away so long, but I know enough to know that’s just how it goes sometimes, especially this time of year. First it was Christmas, and then it was technical issues on the computer, and then it was the opportunity to spend New...
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 | Dec 4, 2013 | Community, Giving, Grace, Gratitude, Just Write, Mothering, Open endings, Parenting
I try to imagine her expression as she presses black and red markers to the paper plate. Does a faint smile turn up the corners of her mouth as she writes thanks? Does a worry line run deep between her eyebrows? Is her house filled by the roars of boys or hollers of...
by Ashley Larkin | Sep 19, 2013 | Imperfect Prose, One Word: Trust, Open endings, Sorrow, Tell His Story, Trust, Truth-telling
“If I were going to begin practicing the presence of God for the first time today, it would help to begin by admitting the three most terrible truths of our existence: that we are so ruined, and so loved, and in charge of so little.” – Anne Lamott,...
by Ashley Larkin | May 16, 2013 | Faith, Grace, Imperfect Prose, Open endings, Perspective, Rest, Truth-telling
I am struggling to love well. This big dream I shared a few weeks ago that felt like a small dream — to do whatever I do with a heart of love — yeah, it’s probably a big no-duh to you, but it’s hard. And I was right the first time: it’s...
by Ashley Larkin | Jan 10, 2013 | Family, Mothering, One Word: Trust, Open endings, Parenting, Perspective, Trust
This week, the girls and I learned about spiders. How they toil. How they spin. How six different substances are released from the backside of their bodies to make up the components needed for their completed webs. (What?! How do they store all that...