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2015 in review
At the beginning of this new year, I want to thank those of you who read my blog. We are all inundated with reading material. Facebook, Twitter, literary magazines, Christian Century articles and blog posts regularly enter my feed and catch my attention. But reading time is precious and limited. So I am grateful…
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In the realm of the nones
I’m excited to share my most recent essay published in The Christian Century that highlights my work as a college chaplain. The “Nones” are defined as those who claim no religious affiliation and I meet many of them in my ministry. Here is a link to my article entitled, In the realm of the nones: Reflections of…
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Writing to Discover
In an essay I am writing about my son I am discovering just how much I love my children. This feels odd to write because of course I already know that I love my children. But as I challenge myself to go deeper in this essay, to be more truthful, to choose words that resonate…
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Worth Sharing
Three blog posts I read this past week that were worth sharing: The Displaced Person: Reading Flannery O’Connor in the Age of Islamophobia by Dave Griffith. I love Flannery O’Connor so I was immediately drawn into Griffith’s article. Then I recognized Griffith’s brilliance in highlighting O’Connor’s short story, The Displaced Person when our states and nations…
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Another Holiday Party
Carefully making my way in the dark, I climb a steep set of cement steps to a glowing house and my fifth of seven holiday parties. Entering a home unannounced goes against all my parents taught me—ring the doorbell, knock, don’t walk in as if you own the place, be a good guest—but at this…
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How can this be? A Christmas Sermon
What follows is my sermon from our Monmouth College Christmas Convocation based on Luke 1: 26-38. Honestly, if I were Mary, I would want to put off the whole “birds and the bees” conversation with Jesus for as long as possible. The problem, though, is that with kids the topic of sex comes up unexpectedly.…
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What the Poets say about Mary
He tiptoes into the room almost as if he were an intruder. Then kneels, soundlessly. His white robe arranges itself. His breath slows. His muscles relax. The lily in his hand tilts gradually backward and comes to rest against his right shoulder. She is sitting near the window, doing nothing, unaware of his presence. Ah:…
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Praying at the Corner of Michigan and Ohio
Today I prayed for the man sitting, cross-legged, his back against the street pole at the corner of Michigan and Ohio. He held a cardboard sign like all the other cardboard signs with “Help. Hungry. Homeless.” written in bold, black marker. My prayer began with the man but led me to those who had made…
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Deleting Unnecessary Words
I came across this article, 43 Words You Should Cut from Your Writing Immediately, on Twitter and found the author’s advice helpful. She hits on many of the mistakes I commonly fall prey to in my own writing. The following advice was particularly helpful for me because I struggle with dialogue. Dialogue tags slow your…
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Bringing it on Home: How to Write a Good Ending
I have written and rewritten the ending to a new article about a hundred times and it still isn’t right. So I decided to pull one of my favorite writing books off the shelf for help and guidance. One of my teachers at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival told me about William Zinsser’s “On Writing…
Teri McDowell Ott 