General

Getting My ‘Colors Done’ with Created Colorful

When I was a girl in the late eighties, I would pour over a book of my mother’s called Color Me Beautiful. Sitting on her bedroom’s carpeted floor, I imagined myself with softly done makeup and glossy, windblown hair like the models in the photos. Tiny squares of various shades of pink, blue, yellow, and green mesmerizedContinue reading “Getting My ‘Colors Done’ with Created Colorful”

Fighting the Fear of Failure in the Creative Process (and Why It ≠ Business)

Business is a metric-driven game, therefore, our emotional sense of success or failure can be directly informed by data. Did you see a return on your investment? Success! Did your new hire close his first deal in Q1? Success! Did the latest campaign generate more traffic? No, engagement is down by X% ( = Failure).Continue reading “Fighting the Fear of Failure in the Creative Process (and Why It ≠ Business)”

CORAM DEO x Substack

If you didn’t get the memo, I’ve migrated to Substack! Expect a monthly newsletter on cultivating a creative life for God’s glory. Here you’ll find musings on writing, old books, motherhood, the art of learning, the South, culture, and God. Nothing too precious, except life and everything in it. You can subscribe here.

Thanks for the Sign

On learning to learn, the changing of seasons, and Elizabeth Gaskell’s ‘North and South’ In our (long)neck of the woods, the leaves are falling. This morning, while walking the dogs by the creek, the air was cool and wet, and I saw the first orb weaver spider of the season; they like to wait toContinue reading “Thanks for the Sign”

A New Chapter

For all the years I have been a Christian, and earnestly trying to follow Christ, the one thing I cannot (honestly) say is that it is boring. I guess it’s similar to raising kids in that way—as soon as you get used to the rhythms and practices of one season, everything completely changes and youContinue reading “A New Chapter”

Where Does My Help Come From?

The internet, and social media especially, likes to talk a lot about mindset -about having “intentionality” with our thoughts. I only mock a little. I get the idea, yes we should be aware of our thought patterns and try to identify and correct any woe-is-me mindset. And scripture certainly instructs us to take every thoughtContinue reading “Where Does My Help Come From?”

6 Easy Looks for Thanksgiving Weekend

Here’s my case for Thanksgiving being the best holiday: it’s centered on two wonderful things – family and delicious food. But most importantly, it is devoid of the pressure to buy someone a gift! I know your family has issues (so does mine) and I know someone will probably burn something (it happens), but overall,Continue reading “6 Easy Looks for Thanksgiving Weekend”

The Virtues of Frankenstein

As many of you know, I’ve embarked on a journey of fiction (not a fictional journey, I hope!) over the last few years. I like to think that I’m reclaiming my childhood love of reading for the pure fun of it…and because I need/crave the creative spark that nonfiction was not giving…and various other (mostlyContinue reading “The Virtues of Frankenstein”

Slaying Ice Giants (and other Christian pursuits)

I’m riding in the back of an Uber through lower Manhattan. The Sunday morning sun is blazing already and its light touches everything – tops of cars zipping by, people moving along the grid as one unit, buildings reaching for the sky like fingers. Every surface shimmers white hot. While the world warms, the questionsContinue reading “Slaying Ice Giants (and other Christian pursuits)”