The Word Worker

Tag: Life

  • It Takes a Village

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    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    A baby is born. Immediately he is whisked away to be poked, prodded, chilled, blinded, and confused by strangers. He is wrapped in a thin blanket and placed alone in a plastic bed. When he squalls he has a strange plastic thing shoved into his mouth out of which comes far too much food for…

  • Godly Emotion

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    wordworkerrussell
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    Very often in the circles labeling themselves as Christian we find evidence of the idea that emotions have nothing to do our walk with God. It may be expressed as the noble sentiment that our actions should be ruled by reason, which is true but only to a point. The human brain is an incredibly…

  • Polaroid Moments

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    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    Last week was long. My husband and I had so many responsibilities and obligations that our days began to blur together. There wasn’t enough time for daily chores or time with kids, and certainly not enough time for fun. We ended the week with a wedding. My husband officiated, my five year old participated, I…

  • Inexorable

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    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    He had lived his entire life in its shadow. Gazing up its sides with jaws agape like the tourists he ferried. Losing himself in the whispering roar of its invisible flow. His boat had been a favorite; no one knew the glacier like he did. Every pop, every boom, was a message. His passengers returned…

  • Mama’s Terrible, Horrible, No-good, Very Bad Day

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    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    We all have them. The days that you know you should have just stayed in bed. Instead you dragged yourself out of the comfy covers and made your sleepy, grumpy kids follow suit. The day that your morning prayer with the kids is an exercise in desperation because in the ten minutes you’ve been awake…

  • Ruts

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    wordworkerrussell
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    My husband and I love to go fourwheeler riding. Anyone who does any kind of off-road riding knows that trails develop because they have been driven over. Someone found a way through the woods or whatever terrain and others followed the tracks because the first person proved that path was passable. Enough vehicles pass that…

  • Follower of Jesus

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    wordworkerrussell
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    Have you ever thought about the disciples of Christ as human beings? People just like you? Can you recognize the following descriptions based on what we know about them from scripture? Do you recognize yourself? Might Jesus have called you if you lived in first century Palestine? A blue-collar worker, impulsive and outspoken, trying to…

  • The Square

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    wordworkerrussell
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    It was an odd place, cobblestone streets and medieval plaster houses confusingly paired with modern storefronts and colorful canvas awnings. Agatha loved it. Every birthday and anniversary, she insisted we have lunch at the little bistro on the tiny mishmash of a square. The city had long since turned the houses into a retirement village,…

  • The School Closet

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    wordworkerrussell
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    Homeschooling is such a fluid undertaking. Unlike in a traditional classroom, where teachers repeat roughly the same lesson plans and teach the same skills year after year, homeschooling goalposts shift constantly as children develop and learn. Although some families maintain special “schoolrooms,” most of us don’t have the space in our homes for such a…

  • Memories

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    wordworkerrussell
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    My youngest turned five this week. It’s an odd feeling to realize my last baby is now officially school-age. I thought about trying to throw a big bash to mark such a momentous occasion, but with all the fullness of life we have going on right now that just wasn’t gong to happen. Fortunately she…