QUESTIONS OF CALLING

unearthing beauty, mining meaning, and seeking truth

This is a place for anyone who wants more, who is not content to be comfortable, who seeks a life of truth and meaning, not just happiness.

Here, we ask hard questions, tell true stories, and turn life inside out to unearth the ragged beauty within.

I’m honored to have you to join me.

Habitual Fear: A Personal Narrative
Mara Eller Mara Eller

Habitual Fear: A Personal Narrative

This is a very special guest post by an alumna of my Unearthing Beauty Personal Narrative Class. I absolutely love its understated drama as she explores an internal conflict with lots of sensory detail and stream-of-consciousness internal dialog.

I awake from deep sleep to my husband's phone ringing. I lie in bed trying to figure out the details, only hearing his end of the call. . .

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Learning to Doubt Without Fear
fear, faith, God Mara Eller fear, faith, God Mara Eller

Learning to Doubt Without Fear

When I started teaching teens at a Christian school a decade ago, I was baffled by how classroom discussion of controversial topics seemed to provoke panic among many parents.

What surprised me was not simply that parents objected to my choice of material but rather the terror that seemed to underlie their objections. It wasn’t rational. It wasn’t even theological. It was emotional: a nameless, faceless, gaping fear.

I’m still not sure what those parents were so afraid of, but I know it had something to do with their children learning to question their faith, to honestly consider other options and opinions . . .

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