Writings & Ruminations

Surrender to Love
Surrendering to love, especially in historically difficult times is no easy task and comes with a cost.

Sacred Flight
After more than 25 years of this work, I still wonder about so many of the women who have graced the steps of Thistle Farms. Do they see their intrinsic...

Practically Divine
When we cultivate our ability to see the divine in the midst of our days, slowly we can trust that deep within us lies the same love that was woven...

Redefining Power
Redefining power is an exercise that offers us an opportunity to see how we have undercut or abused our own. More and more, I am shying away from the word...

Modern Hero 2018
We believe in honoring women and that love heals… This is how we grow a movement.

Stop the Execution of Childhood Abuse Victims
Although I have worked for the past few decades on behalf of survivors of trafficking and injustices within the criminal justice system, I still am caught off guard by the...

Stop & Wait: 2018 Advent Reflection
Sometimes I feel scared to stop and wait. It seems counterintuitive. I have been trying to grow a movement for women's freedom for decades through the work of Thistle Farms,...

Sharing Toilet Paper as a Spiritual Discipline
Packing a box with a roll of toilet paper, when you are down to your last eight rolls, is a spiritual exercise, a tithe. If you want world peace, maybe start...

The Extraordinary
Visions can be old and as simple as considering birds and grass again. Most vision comes from within, the gift is looking at something before us and finally seeing it.

The Joy of Nothing
Nothing is a theology of dust to dust and knowing that everything passes but love.

Love Lives: A Good Friday Reflection
Dear Sisters and Brothers, death loses its tourniquet hold on our lives when we, like Nicodemus and Joseph, dare to whisper and act with radical faith.

Love Beyond Borders: 7 Calls to Action
The response of the Thistle Farms Global team is to rally support and investment for women survivors so they can invest in their own communities, eliminate physical and sexual violence...

Listen like you are falling in love
This week I invite you to listen again to the story of a friend or coworker or family member. Listen like you are falling in love.

Let's Be Brave
Let's be brave. Let us muster up the courage to name the stress and anxiety and move it aside for a minute. Let the deeper feelings—whether loss, fear or grief—have...

The Longing to be Known
It means the world to be known, to search and know someone. So in gratitude for all the ways we have been known and loved, reach out and remember our...

The Luxury of Advent
Waiting offers time to breathe, reflect, anticipate and dream. Waiting is the space where you don’t need to pretend you have answers and closure.

The Power of Love
Power is the ability to make decisions, to act on the decisions you make, and to possess enough freedom to hope. That is how I define power, just for today.

The Power of My Imperfections
When the shiny vest of perfection is peeled off, talk is truth, and we all breathe deeper. It binds us to each other, knowing we need one another.

Visions of Dandelions
My mind is dancing with visions of dandelions: happy, yellow-faced flowers that are the harbingers of spring.

What Child is This?
We are the child of God, bearing the love of Christ in us. We are the child who is embraced and then sent back out to love again.

Why Adore a Baby?
Every child is holy, and every baby can remind us that God is with us, and love is made flesh.

Midnight Before Christmas
Love calls to us like a bright shining star To celebrate Love’s wonder wherever you are.

Learning to Weave in Rwanda
It’s taken most of the day traveling in small towns and over bumpy roads, but I’ve almost finished a coaster. The experience makes me question once again certain basic assumptions...

Lay Me Down in Wildflowers: An Easter Message
Lay us down in wildflowers and breathe in the knowledge that even though these spring beauties pass in a moment, they return despite drought, floods, and grief.