by Chris Manion | Nov 29, 2020 | Blog, Writing
Before Thanksgiving, his wife asked him nicely. Several times. Then his stepdaughter mentioned it would be a good idea. Despite many warnings, someone didn’t heed them. Sometimes we receive only one task to do. We’d like to think we’re on top of it,...
by Chris Manion | Nov 8, 2020 | Blog, Writing
No matter what we do, our Christian faith is not going to please everyone. That’s a given. When someone has a bone to pick with us, it can feel like a low blow when they call us out on our Christian faith like one bully I know. Especially when it’s a...
by chrismanionstg | Oct 31, 2020 | Blog, Writing
My mother was the third generation Catherine among my Irish ancestors. There are probably more. I haven’t gotten very far in researching our family genealogy. My daughter carries Catherine into the fourth generation as her middle name. Brooklyn, Kathryn Grayson,...
by Chris Manion | Oct 3, 2020 | Blog, Writing
How would you answer this questions today: “Who do you say that I am?” It almost feels like a pop quiz, like Jesus has called us for a little chat and it happens to be in front of His Father. No pressure. We have all wondered from time to time what others...
by Chris Manion | Sep 28, 2020 | Blog
I keep waking up to a gnawing sadness in my spirit these days. Perhaps you know what I mean? The sadness doesn’t surprise me with all that’s going on in the world today: the double-edged sword of a pandemic that some refuse to respect; a rising...
by Chris Manion | Aug 12, 2020 | Uncategorized
We’re so tired of it. The pandemic? Yes. “Enough already!” We get tired of old familiar things too. Such as “Sing a New Song,” the 1972 Dan Schutte guitar song, that God brought before me recently. I tired of that song twenty years ago...
by Chris Manion | Jul 25, 2020 | Uncategorized
I didn’t realize it was one of those spiritual questions at the time. “What do you want me to do now?” Mom asked Dad and me. She’d been in the ICU for seven weeks fighting sepsis—the body’s overreaction to an infection. It threatens...
by Chris Manion | Jun 20, 2020 | Blog, Writing
When we show up to make art. That phrase of author Mirabai Starr pulled me up quick. I show up. That’s what I tell myself. I’m dependable when asked to do something. Mirabai Starr holds up a different kind of truth below, something a little deeper....
by Chris Manion | Jun 6, 2020 | Blog, Writing
One writing tip I hear over and over again is to prioritize writing every day if you can. I hadn’t done that this year but I did do one thing that revitalized my writing in 2019: I completed a whole month of writing for NaNoWriMo.. In November 2019, I took my...
by Chris Manion | May 2, 2020 | Blog, Writing
In this new season of uneasiness and unknowns, finding unexpected wonderfuls continued as I worked in my front yard this week. “When are you taking your Easter eggs down?” a hand-holding senior couple asked as they walked by our two crepe myrtle trees with...