Posts by writingjoy
Bloopers: An Essential Part of Inviting Friends Over
Welcome to life:unmasked, a weekly blog link-up in which we gather to step out from behind our masks a little, get real, and maybe even try to write naked. We take Jesus seriously when He teaches that His love is unconditional, and we know that there’s something about sharing our imperfections that makes it easier…
Read MoreA Revealing Lecture
We lounged around a table in a Chicago pizzeria, basking in the relief of having the debate season behind us and a day of sight-seeing before us. The graduating seniors on the team began telling favorite stories from the previous four years, regaling the underclassmen with their antics. Someone turned to our coach, Mrs. H.…
Read MoreI Don’t Love You But I Always Will
The girls chant “Justin Bieber, Justin Bieber, Justin Bieber” while the boys writhe and moan and cover their ears, loving to hate the current teen idol. My son memorizes songs by Taio Cruz , while my daughter Googles and prints photos of Taylor Swift and replays that one song about Romeo and Juliet every day,…
Read MoreGet Naked: The Most Important Writing Advice You Will Ever Read
Ok, that might be a little bit of hyperbole. But as we close out the year, I want to share the most important writing advice I’ve ever run across. It is at the heart of the weekly blogging meme I started in 2011 called life:unmasked (link up your unmasked posts here every Wednesday!). It is the heart…
Read MoreDeep Breath: Best Post Written in Five Minutes
I’ve participated in The Gypsy Mama’s Friday writing prompt “Five Minute Fridays” numerous times over the past year. She gives a prompt and then we write, unedited, for five minutes. Then publish it. This post, on the prompt “deep breath,” is my favorite. P.S. I made a hilarious error writing it so fast. Can you…
Read MoreGod, Grief, Child Killers, and Second Chances
From July 30-August 7 I traveled to Bolivia with a team of bloggers and staff from World Vision. This trip was like childbirth. I’ve been pregnant with a less-cerebral-more-active faith, but that faith was finally delivered on a dirt path among the poorest of the world’s poor. This newborn faith is transforming my perspective on…
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