What do I mean by Happy New Year?

What do I mean by Happy New Year?

Happy New Year! We express this formula each year by email, text, and the spoken word. Our wish expressed a desire for a year that is peaceful, happy, healthy—what we’d call a “good” year. We look back on certain periods and say, “That was a good year.” I’m guessing no one will say that about 2020. When you hear the phrase this year, it’s often joined by, “It has to be better than this year!” We began 2020 with optimism for the new year ahead of us, armed with the well-wishes...
God of the Unlikely

God of the Unlikely

It’s a perfect fall day in the 70s in North Carolina. We do have beautiful falls here. It might seem like any other year, but we all know with aching certainty that it’s not. Our country and world seem to be falling apart. Yet, we have the tiny joys of days in the 70s (while we can get them…), an adorable lizard about an inch and a half long running across my patio table as I write this, pumpkin muffins (with chocolate) fresh from the oven, and many more joys that are abundant if we open our...
Hope for Clay Pots

Hope for Clay Pots

Several years ago, I started learning pottery. I took my first class, which involved ust clay, a couple tools, and my hands. That was called “hand building” for obvious reasons! The next step in my learning was the pottery wheel. I assumed I’d catch on quickly because I’d done well at the first step.