What do you think of when you hear the word “boundary”? Is it the border between one state or country and another? How about the leash used to walk your dog? A shoreline is a boundary between a body of water and the adjacent land. Budgets are boundaries, as are book and social media bans. Email offers a boundary called “Unsubscribe.” I use that a lot.

Perhaps it’s the poisonous political and social environment in the U.S., but 2025 raced by like an express train barreling down the tracks with no scheduled stops. It’s unsettling for time to fly by so quickly. Surely there is much about the past year I’ve forgotten, lost amidst pardons, predators, and protests.

Have you heard about the “We Do Not Care” (WDNC) club? It’s a social movement that went viral when a weary, but newly-enlightened influencer named Melani Sanders shared an Instagram post detailing what she no longer cared much about. Her list included wearing bras, looking pregnant, and matching clothes.

“Micro” is trending. It’s not like I’ve never heard the word before. Growing up in the 1960s and 70s, archived documents lived at the library on microfiche, and micro miniskirts were all the rage.

By now you probably know that U.S. President Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” on July 4. The bill includes a temporary termination of taxes on tips and overtime for qualified workers. It also includes historic cuts to Medicaid, food assistance, and other programs that serve low income, disabled, and other Americans. The bill will increase the country’s national debt by more than $3 billion by permanently extending 2017 tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

I tend to see the glass as half-full rather than half-empty. I don’t, however, see the world through rose-colored glasses. Pollyanna herself would look at the current state of political affairs in the U.S. and in an atypical burst of hopelessness, hurl her famous Glad Game out the nearest window.

I can’t recall a time when I didn’t believe in God. Even as a child, I understood that a supreme Someone lay behind the creation of the world around me. As I grew, however, how that belief was expressed, especially within Christianity, became more interesting with each passing year.

It’s hard to believe that this month marks the second anniversary of Be That As It May: Adventures in Loving Well. Thank you to all who read, commented on, or shared my thoughts with others!

Have you heard the phrase “Bloom where you’re planted”? I first encountered it on a t-shirt in a catalogue filled with an eclectic collection of jewelry, magnets, books, cards, and coffee cups. Above the words was the image of a bright yellow flower pushing through a thin crack in a cement sidewalk. The message was clear:

Last month’s post was part one of a two-part discussion about abortion. I contend in part one that Wild Woman’s wise and loving counsel can help us move beyond the painful polarization around abortion policy in the U.S. for more than 50 years.

Many tough questions emerged as I researched the huge body of information about abortion. Yet some of the most thought-provoking aspects seemed rarely, if ever, to be part of the larger conversation by either the pro-life or pro-choice camp.

Recently, I came across an old issue of The Oprah Magazine about owning our “quirks.” Essay titles included “Guess What? Everybody’s a Little Odd,” “The Power of Quirk,” and “Awe of Flaws.”

Ah, February, the love month, which Hallmark has dubbed “Loveuary.” It’s also the one-year anniversary of Be That as It May: Adventures in Loving Well.

The Digital Age of computers and other technologies is well underway. Like a runaway train, it thunders forward with a stunning momentum that seems unstoppable.

Mother’s Day. How hard could it be, I thought, to write about being a mother? I have, after all, been one for more than 40 years. Yet reflecting on my personal experience of mothering, I realized anew how complex and layered the subject can be.

The current stalemate in the U.S. about gun safety scares me. It's tempting to cite statistics about what gun violence is doing to the bodies, minds, and hearts of Americans, especially our children. However, if statistics could help, they would have done so by now.

Happy Valentine’s Day! It’s the perfect day to introduce my new blog—Be That As It May: Adventures in Loving Well.