Small vs. Big: The Unexpected Benefits of Small Things
When you’re a writer and have to produce words daily, you occasionally suffer from brain freezes that, unfortunately, have nothing to do...
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ruthieburrell
May 8, 20164 min read
What I Learned from Watching My Mom Parent My Siblings
Earlier this week, my baby brother turned fifteen. To most people, that would barely count as a milestone, but when there are ten years...
ruthieburrell
May 6, 20164 min read
God of the Storm
The sun was bright over the Jezreel Valley as our tour group reached the top of Mount Carmel. It was 2010, and I was spending three weeks...
ruthieburrell
Apr 16, 20164 min read
A Tale of Waltery Roytha and the Potter
During my sophomore year of college, my roommate, Amy, and I were up late one night editing stories for each other. In a somewhat typical...
ruthieburrell
Mar 25, 20164 min read
I Am Brutus
The quiet in the used car lot was broken by the squealing hinge on the door of a 1951 Ford Country Squire station wagon. A tall man, too...
ruthieburrell
Mar 13, 20164 min read
Stories: The Lifeblood of Memories
In recent months, a few of you have asked about why I’m posting less often on this blog—apologies for not giving an explanation sooner....
ruthieburrell
Mar 5, 20163 min read
Living Unmasked
A few months ago, I wrote a blog post about “Questions and Answers,” cataloging my journey of the questions I asked when I was a toddler,...
ruthieburrell
Feb 23, 20162 min read
Hope in a Bird’s Nest
Spring is sometimes a tease. She peeks her head out from behind Winter’s skirts just long enough to get us excited before ducking back...
ruthieburrell
Feb 6, 20163 min read
Waiting for the Harvest
Ten years ago, when my family moved to the home where they live now, my dad planted several fruit trees in our tiny “orchard.” Apples,...
ruthieburrell
Jan 23, 201612 min read
Sperare
“Captain Matthews.” “Yes?” “They’ve made the final decision. You’ve been chosen.” “ . . . thank you, Commander.” # The thing about...
ruthieburrell
Jan 15, 20162 min read
Grace in the Little Things
Sometimes I forget that Jesus cares about the little things. Throughout His earthly ministry, though His gaze was often fixed on the...
ruthieburrell
Jan 8, 20163 min read
Triumphs and Tragedies of New Year’s Day
For many years, New Year’s Day has been a time of looking back and looking forward—a day of two faces. This becomes all the more apparent...
ruthieburrell
Dec 31, 20152 min read
New Beginnings
When I was little, I hated endings. I cried on the last day of Kindergarten because I wasn’t ready for it to be over. When I finished a...
ruthieburrell
Dec 5, 20151 min read
To Be Used or Not To Be Used
Used I want to have a heart split wide open to the world to give a listening ear offer a willing hand speak a kind word to help with...
ruthieburrell
Nov 13, 20154 min read
Longing for Home
Today I found a half-finished poem I wrote a few years ago about my first home—a duplex in Olathe, Kansas. The poem was far from...
ruthieburrell
Oct 24, 20158 min read
Finding Samuel, Part 2
Part 2 of 2 of a short story I wrote a few years ago and dusted off for this month’s “In Another World” post. You can read Part 1 here....
ruthieburrell
Oct 23, 20159 min read
Finding Samuel, Part 1
Here’s part 1 of 2 of a story I wrote a few years ago and dusted off for this month’s “From Another World” post. Part 2 of the story will...
ruthieburrell
Oct 16, 20153 min read
No Smell of Smoke
The summer between my junior and senior years of college, I interned at WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing House in Colorado Springs. For...
ruthieburrell
Oct 9, 20153 min read
St Paul’s: Standing in the Fire
In times of chaos, the holy places become refuges, symbols of tenacious, desperate hope. Because no matter how bad things get, no matter...
ruthieburrell
Sep 18, 20153 min read
Chasing the Wild Goose
When I was signing up for classes and workshops for the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) Conference last spring, I really had no...
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