Tonight I find myself thumbing through my very worn copy of Grapes of Wrath. I have another "clean" copy downstairs on my respectable living room bookshelves. The one resting on my desk was already used when I bought it, and is now held together with tape. But it bears the markings from the first time… Continue reading Remembering Ma
Author: Carla Waterman
I am a former Christian spirituality professor, a mentor, ponderer, musician and writer. I am owning my creative life blog upon blog, and as I learn the craft, I will add a podcast. I live in a northern suburb of Minneapolis, back in my roots with my husband and dog. I'm a new grandmother, and when I'm not reading, writing or playing piano, I often have a crochet hook and some good yarn in my hands.
Renouncing the Devil
Today is a “go to your cell, and your cell will tell you everything” day. But it took me years to discover what I was supposed to be doing in that cell, and I thought if I opened the door a crack, it might give others a greater insight into some of the common dynamics to cell dwelling. Yesterday… Continue reading Renouncing the Devil
Reorienting
If you were to ask my younger sister and illustrator if there was anything tentative in me with respect to the title of what is now Songs of Assent, she would begin her humorous romp through every title that was, in its season, the absolute right one. I had nine months of writing to name this creative baby...and it took… Continue reading Reorienting
Riding a Rollercoaster on a Wave: Part 1
Sometimes life needs more than one metaphor. My sister, Pam, and I constructed “riding a rollercoast on a wave” in one of those seasons where neither metaphor was sufficient in itself. Growing up playing on the sand of Lake Michigan and sitting on the rocks above Lake Superior, I love waves. I hate rollercoasters. I dislike the feeling… Continue reading Riding a Rollercoaster on a Wave: Part 1
Riding the Ripples
From one angle of vision, Mary’s rebounding “do whatever He tells you” illumines the kind of peace so anchored in her trust in Jesus that she could hold lightly to her plans and wait in harbor for her Son’s next move. But from another direction, her initial commentary at the wedding in Cana was itself a risk. Once the… Continue reading Riding the Ripples
Roadside Art
Lobster nets on Mohegan Island, Maine The "lobsta" fishermen on Mohegan Island, Maine, take life not as "a problem to be solved, but a medium for creation" (Dorothy Savers, The Mind of the Maker) to a whole new level. During their off-season (which, for reasons of state politics, was already in effect by the beginning… Continue reading Roadside Art
Samwise
I just adopted Samwise, a Poodle/Maltese mix puppy in foster care with a Florida Dog Rescue organization. His mama had been rescued just before she gave birth to my very sweet puppy. I couldn't believe no one else had snapped him up. But this dog was left untouched for six weeks until I saw him… Continue reading Samwise
Scars
Most of us have them. I remember receiving my first one as I split open my left knee while jumping on the thin ice of a not-yet-completely-frozen puddle in rural Minnesota. While my doctor dad stitched up his first grade daughter I simultaneously received verbal instruction on why we don’t jump on icy puddles. I don’t know how… Continue reading Scars
Bent
I've never desired the approval of everyone. Just selected others, others who, in my eyes, really matter. But in conforming to what it takes to retain their approval, I become a distorted image bearer of my God. C.S. Lewis calls this condition “bentness.” When I assume this bent posture I live for the approval of others, rather than… Continue reading Bent
Shining Tears
“But please, please—won’t you—can’t you give me something that will cure Mother?” Up till then he had been looking at the Lion’s great feet and the huge claws on them; now, in his despair, he looked up at its face. What he saw surprised him as much as anything in his whole life. For the… Continue reading Shining Tears
Carla Waterman 