What the …
Madness, Despair, Wonder: My Albuquerque Backyard Refuge Program Application
As you can see, many of my plants, trees, and habitat in general are very young…thus the sidewalk chalk and tricycles fit nicely as part of an overall theme. You thought it was unsightly clutter, but it’s carefully curated yard art. When we moved into the house, the front yard had two Texas red yuccas…
A Tale of Woe and Wonder: Flying Flamingos and Beavertail Blooms
My mom gave me a beavertail prickly pear as a housewarming gift when I moved to New Mexico a few years ago. I was pregnant, constantly vomiting and short of breath while taking care of my toddler, so I couldn’t muster much enthusiasm for a cactus. My husband dug a hole and tossed it in…
Voddie Baucham and Critical Race Theory
This article was printed in The Daily Item on November 7, 2021, and you can read it on their site here. I’m posting it on this blog with additional citations and information. Perhaps like many of you, I first came across Critical Race Theory (CRT) about 18 months ago, when one of my dear friends…
“Good Sinners”
Note: A more direct, edited version of this piece was printed in The Daily Item, and you can read it here. I’ve known I was a sinner for as long as I can remember, but I didn’t understand what it meant until the summer I was seventeen. That June, I attended the Pennsylvania Governor’s School…
The time my dad ran from the police
To properly enjoy the details of my dad’s delinquency, you need an idea of the man he grew up to be. Pre-pandemic, my parents went to the Dominican Republic to visit their friend, Dr. Canario. They’d run many medical mission trips together over the years. Strolling through San Juan’s downtown area one afternoon, a young…
Why Do Black Men Run From the Police?
By Leah Blankenship Have you ever jogged too far from your house or car and find yourself wondering how you’ll ever manage the run back? My favorite time for a jog is early evening, and sometimes I miscalculate and find myself a long way from home as twilight settles in. I watch for tree roots…
George Washington and the great heroes of the Bible
My mom is a history buff. When we were kids, she took my brothers and I to Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Harper’s Ferry, Ford’s Theater, and more. Sometimes in spite of ourselves, we learned all kinds of weird historical tidbits. And from an early age, we learned a deep reverence for the people who gave their…
Juneteenth Celebrates a Great American Victory
I love my country. We are a beautiful land filled with incredible people, and I am grateful to be an American. Juneteenth is a new holiday for me, and I’m still figuring out how to celebrate it. But along with Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day, it celebrates the very best of the United States of…
I was a racist, Christian teacher. I hurt a child I prayed for constantly.
If you spent any time with me in 2009, you knew about Darnell. I was a first-year teacher at an amazing little Christian school in Philadelphia, and Darnell was one of my third grade students. I put my heart and soul into teaching that year. I started most mornings by kneeling on the classroom floor,…
Beautifully and Wonderfully Made!
When I held my newborn baby for the first time, I delighted in everything about her. Her ten little toes, impossibly cute ears, and the reddish-orange fuzz covering her head. Strawberry blonde, like my dad and brother! If you’d told me at that moment that my daughter’s hair “didn’t matter,” I would have chucked a…
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