Storyteller. Grace Dweller.

I’m Jennifer — wife of an Iowa farmer, mom to two girls, new book author. I believe in you, because I believe in Jesus. You matter to Him, and you matter to me. more »

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Category: Community

Monday 20th May 2013

When I’m an Old Woman, I Shall … (Plus An Incredible Giveaway!)

When I’m an old woman, I really shall wear purple. But I won’t actually wait until I’m old to wear it. And when I’m an old woman, I shall not really know that I’m old. But I shall think myself quite young. And I’ll cry easily at the Hallmark card stand, and ...

Monday 13th February 2012

The Church Potluck

A little girl, her face round with wonder, finds me in the church kitchen, where I’m plugging in a crock-pot full of BBQ meatballs. “Jennifer,” she tugs at my sweater. “I brought cupcakes, and I frosted them all by myself.” I bend down, so I can see her eye to eye. ...

Friday 6th May 2011

You Really Do Learn The Best Stuff in Kindergarten

It’s true, what Robert Fulghum said. I’ts not always the advanced degrees or the big promotion that propel us ahead in this life. Most often, it’s what we learned in kindergarten. I went on a field trip yesterday with my sweet-cheeked girl and 71 other kindergarteners. And I ...

Monday 12th April 2010

What a Small Group Can Do

We were sitting in the arena seats, and the man in the spotlight spoke wisdom into the microphone: Every Christian needs a small group.My husband’s smile stretched across his face, and he leaned over to whisper words in my ear: Our very church is a small group. And my heart burned with ...

Monday 2nd November 2009

Clanging Cymbal

Love thy neighbor, Jesus says. And I think that I do.But in this racing world, have I slowed enough to really love my neighbor? Each day, I watch real-life neighbors zip down the highway in a blur of steel beyond the alfalfa field. I wave to them, and consider my effortless gesture an act of... ...

Wednesday 7th October 2009

Could We Get Down?

UPDATE ON October 22, 2009 Friends, for the most recent updates and for links to Mary’s obituaries, click here or click on the HOME page button at the top lefthand corner of the blog. — Jennifer UPDATE ON October 21, 2009Mary Anaya –Christ-follower and mother of 11 — ...

Friday 11th September 2009

“Broken” Church

They left a trail of evidence: shattered glass, muddy shoe-prints, broken cabinets. They stole, and they rummaged, and they popped the lid off the baptismal font looking for treasure inside, though the sacramental contents could never be sold at a pawn shop. That’s how we found our church ...

Friday 3rd July 2009

The Best Place: The One Where You Belong

I drove down main street, past the hardware store, post office and city hall, then steered west into orange sky — toward home. The girls were buckled in, nestled in — looking through half-open eyes out gravel-dusted windows. Our week has been packed with parties for a 125-year-old ...

Wednesday 3rd June 2009

The Hymnal

She walked in while I was straightening the empty sanctuary in preparation for the second night of Vacation Bible School. Her voice echoed from the back, but I could barely hear her. I was up front, rocking out to a jazzed-up VBS version of “This Little Light of Mine.” I turned down ...

Friday 22nd May 2009

Please include me …

Dear Elizabeth,The sun had yet to rise on your day when you spilled your heart into Ann Voskamp’s comment box. You were comment number 8. Your words, written on the front edge of dawn, reached my eyes when noonday sun illuminated Iowa. We had both walked through the door of Ann’s ...