Braendlein Brilliance

Suffering has seasons. There was a time for Job to defend himself, to defend the right doings of his Lord to his well-meaning and absolutely worthless friends, but there came a point in his pain when he came face to … Read More

This morning, email has not been my friend. I know we aren’t supposed to hate the messenger and all, but today I do. This morning I learned over email that someone I love dearly lost someone she loved dearly. He … Read More

Lame, right? You all probably use your great-great-great grandmother’s recipe for blueberry pancakes and are wondering why I would bother writing about a breakfast that has been SO DONE. Fair point. Here is my twist: I don’t put blueberries in … Read More

On occasion in these posts, I have alluded to “my pain”, while never really explaining it in any truly satisfactory way. And you’re now thinking, THIS! Finally! The whole reason I bookmarked this ridiculous website and keep coming back when … Read More

The stages that we as human beings go through when battling the common cold are hysterically funny to me. Not saying that I am, as a habit, someone who points and laughs when people don’t feel good. I mean… ok, … Read More

Inspiration strikes in funny places. Do you find that? How often was Michelangelo just minding his own business, enjoying a midday burger or his equivalent of the daily crossword puzzle before out of nowhere, BOOM — you know what would … Read More

It’s interesting living in western Washington (insert eye rolls and sarcastic remarks about understatements here, please). I noticed it more this year than ever before, that here in the Seattle area, as soon as we get past Christmas, there is … Read More

It is annoying to let yourself down. Especially when you disappoint yourself over an absolutely foolish and arbitrary goal, like I have this week. Because I am literally the only person who cares that I did not succeed in getting … Read More

Confession time: my reading habits tend towards the schizophrenic. On any given day, you might find me reading G.K. Chesterton, Francis Schaeffer, Martin Luther, Fredrik Backman or John Greene and absolutely everything in between. Yes, prying Reader, I have even … Read More

Once upon a time, I lived in a place where I had a bakery for buying my bread and Sabbath pastries, a Meat Fairy who kept me well supplied, a farmer’s market for vegetables, and a source for local dairy. … Read More