Kimberly Knowle-Zeller
Measuring Up
With donut-filled cheeks and sticky fingers, Charlotte and Isaac skip down the hallway behind me to find a seat in church....
Pen Pal Friends
It’s no surprise that the news came in the form of a letter. Driving out of town we stopped at the cluster of mailboxes for...
Remember This
“My butterfly shirt, Mama. Butterflies! Purple butterflies. I wear my butterfly shirt.” Charlotte chants to me as I hold...
We’re Better Mothers Together
While clearing the lunch plates my daughter, Charlotte, grabs a train to roll across the table. I hear the buzz of my phone....
Rewriting the Script: (Never) Wishing Away Words
From the kitchen entrance I look through my laundry room to the rising sun. I see our neighbor’s kitchen window. Their kitchen...
#coffeeandcreativity
The sounds greet me first - the hum of the espresso machine, laughter, and conversation. Next, I smell the fresh blueberry...
Listening for Spring
I hear the pecking before I see the hint of red. Peering through my office window, while I write, a woodpecker bobs it's head...
In Defense of the Local Paper
Living in a small town there are many ways to get a pulse for the community: eating at the local diner, a hot drink at the...
Duct-Tape Crosses and Lettuce Seeds
Charlotte and Isaac sit at their little table in the center of the kitchen. Charlotte has made it clear at which seat...
One Poem and Paintbrush at a Time
“One more poem, one more poem,” cheers Charlotte from her seat at the kitchen table. It’s the everyday breakfast rush-chaos-frenzy,...
This is Advent
“I do it!”
Charlotte’s pointing to the lighter. Our floating candles move gently in the water. Green and red garland surrounds...
My Reading Year
Books, books, books!
The start of Advent signals for me another start - the beginning of my reading year. For the second...
Giving Thanks
Thanksgiving 2014
She sleeps soundly on my chest. There's no where either of us would rather be. It's so new, this weight...
Close - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
I'm surrounded by creativity.
It's nap time. The house is quiet. It's time for me to write. It's time for the final free...
Voice - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
For the last year I've been so fixated on Charlotte learning how to talk that I sometimes forget the bigger picture. It seems...
Together - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
Stuffed into the bottom of a dresser draw sits a t-shirt. It's one I can't bring myself to give away. Yet, it's one I seldom...
Song - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
I don't remember the exact age in which I first watched The Sound of Music, but whatever the age, the story captivated me...
Whole - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
The day demanded our attention. All of creation seemed to be saying: Get outside. Revel in this beauty. Feel the wind. Look...
Moment - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
Today, a perfect fall day, the tree stands majestic.
You can’t miss the leaves, red and orange, lighting the sky....
Capture - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
A picture captures a thousand words.
But what about the words you can't see? What about the words that aren't there?
This...
Brief - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
I remember the conversation clearly. I was the passenger driving somewhere in Lesotho, a tiny mountain kingdom surrounded...
Common - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
We (mostly I) had no intention of using nicknames for our children.
So how did we end up with a Bubba?
When deciding on...
Help - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
It’s amazing how quickly a calm morning can turn into a frantic mess.
Everyone slept in a bit later than normal - perhaps...
Start - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
I remember the first time I saw him. His back to me and his sling backpack across his back. He’s standing talking to other...
Audience - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
The wedding is almost over. We’ve heard scripture, the vows have been shared, the rings exchanged, the prayers given. There’s...
Who - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
These days, I don't get dressed up too often. Between playing on the floor, driving here and there, and cleaning up after...
Search - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
I've been searching even before I knew anything was lost.
Not lost necessarily, but not fully present either. In my mind...
Pause - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
I needed to hit pause all day. More realistically, all week. With little patience everything stressed me out. From the dishes...
Pray - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
It's a hustle to get there.
My son is crying as I leave and my daughter wants to walk me out the door holding my mat. I...
When - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
When did I become a writer?
Could it have been those first years having stories read to me. Falling in love with rhymes...
Ask - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
"Church. Church? I go."
It's the question Charlotte asks every Sunday. Some mornings she wakes up saying the word...
Talk - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
I had no idea the act of talking could be so complicated. I never knew there are so many moving pieces and parts of our brains,...
Praise - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
The rain falls. The clouds cover the sky. The sun doesn't give off any warmth.
Yet, there's reason to praise.
The...
Door - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
The roosters begin their morning greetings. Soon the chattering of voices is heard; slowly and softly waking up. The brooms...
How - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
The sun wouldn’t be up yet. Only the promise that it would rise again. First there’d be the ruffle of sleeping bags,...
Inspire - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
Go for a walk they say. Find inspiration in the trees and wind and the ground you walk on. Pay attention to the details of...
Comfort - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
I can’t seem to get rid of it.
The dark pink sweater jacket lays stuffed in my bottom dresser drawer. It’s within reach...
Hope - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
“Pink pie, Mama!”
“You want a pink pie, Charlotte?”
“Yes! Pink pie.”
“You want me to make you a pink pie for your birthday?”
“Yes!...
Belong - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes
It's the same every time.
Whenever we walk, we take the same route.
Most days it's a whirlwind to get out of...
Share - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writing
Trains. The current favorite toy of both Charlotte and Isaac. In truth though, the favorite toy for each of them happens...
Why - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writing
The rearview mirror doesn’t lie. I see so much from this vantage point.
Charlotte reaches her hand over to hold Isaac’s...
Believe - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writing
I hear her soft steps as she quietly opens the door. “Mama.” I turn and see her making her way to me. I’m sitting with my...
Afraid - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writing
I’m afraid I won’t remember it all.
“Help, Mama.” As soon as I say the words cook, kitchen, or bake, Charlotte says, “Help,...
Story - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writing
Dear Isaac,
In some ways your story is just beginning. Yet, your story, I believe, has been known since the beginning of...
Speech: A Beginning
“Tell me about Charlotte’s birth. Were there any complications? How was your pregnancy?”
I answer as I’ve answered before....
(Not) Fluffing Flowers
I have a secret to admit.
I’ve never fluffed a flower.
Or pleated for that matter.
Or cut, counted, trimmed, glued.
Or...
Making sauce, playing children, and the moments in between
My daughter points to the stove and the big pot simmering. “Hot” she says. The smells of tomatoes, peppers, and fresh picked...
At First Breath - A Birthday Wish
It’s the same every night. I open the door and creep into his room. I’m careful in my pursuit - to not squeak the wood floors...
Santiago - Arriving and Still Arriving
July 5, 2008 - Day 33, Arrived in Santiago, 20 km
I have arrived! My only thought this morning was getting to Santiago....
Far from Normal
June 21, 2008 -Day 19 Complete, 25 km
“It’s normal.”
For my friends along the Camino, Manuela and Paco, it’s normal to...
Yellow Arrows, Apraxia, and Knowing the Way
June 17, 2008 - Day 15 Complete, 28 km
Everyday when I walk I can’t help but see the yellow arrows that mark the way and...
Saints Along the Way
June 10, 2008 - Day 8 Complete, 29 km
Sitting in the city square of Logrono, I enjoyed tortilla and hot chocolate, I chatted...
To Carry the Weight for Another
June 6, 2008 - Day 4 Complete, 21 km
I visited an octagonal church today. It was off the Way, but highly recommended. I...
First Steps on the Camino
June 3, 2008 - Tuesday, Day 1 Complete, 27 km
An old converted barn is my home tonight - bunk beds lined up next to one...
On Preschool Lessons and Love
I’m sure my daughter has learned much this past year; her first year of preschool.
There are the lessons of knowing where...
This is Lent: Brushing Teeth, Bedtime, and Prayers
My days in Lent look different. They feel different. They sound different.
My Lenten days rise and fall with the sounds...
Embraced in Love
Dear Isaac,
Looking through your pictures I realized that most of the pictures we have of you include your sister.
In the...
A Christmas Eve Lesson on Cows, Speech, and Love
And the cows said, “MOO!”The sheep said, “BAA!”The chickens said: “Cluck!”
Charlotte could have chimed in with the cows...
On pumpkins, wastefulness, and abundance
I think of pumpkins and can’t help but think of her. She was just a toddler when I met her, close to the age of my daughter...
A Cole Camp Fair
Parades, turtle races, hay bale tossing, burgers, and rides, Oh My!
All signs of the Cole Camp Fair. If you’ve talked to...
The Moon at 3 a.m.
Worship the Lord in the beauty of his holiness:Come let us adore him
What else do you do at 3 am when faced with the wide-awake...
A Tale of Two Births
My Monday babies.
One coming late in the evening in no hurry to greet the world.
One coming with the rising sun eager to...
On Waiting
We fall asleep holding hands. Wondering if this will be the night. Will our hearts be expanding even more soon? Will we wake...
Of Fathers and Fireworks and Light Shining in the Darkness
“Here, take a seat on the bench,” the stranger stood up and pointed to my dad. He was weak and small, too ill...
Summer in Cole Camp
Mayberry.Stars Hollow. We’ve said it before, and we’ll keep saying it.
Cole Camp is our Mayberry and our Stars...
Little Blue Trucks
My daughter, Charlotte, loves the book, The Little Blue Truck. She loves the animals and making their sounds with their pictures....
At Home in the World on a Concrete Slab
It’s just a concrete slab. Hard, dirty, dusty, bumpy. A thick piece of concrete nestled in the center of the compound....
Weaver Chapel
I entered the college’s chapel to be greeted immediately by the organ music.
Could it be the same music I heard so...
Beauty is All Around
“Let us come alive to the splendor that is all around us, and see the beauty in ordinary things.” -Thomas Merton
Beauty...
Painted Rocks
Have painted rocks come to your town?
For me it began with one find - at the park, perched on a tree stump, I found a rock....
Planting Hope
Saturday, February 18th, 2017. Nearly 70 degrees. Again, I repeat: It’s February in Missouri.
A Night To Shine
I have great memories from attending Prom in high school. I was crowned Prom Queen my senior year so who wouldn’t have...
#MUSLIMSWELCOMEDME
#MUSLIMSWELCOMEDME
I find that if I read through my journals from my time serving in the Peace Corps in The Gambia, West...
Writing with Friends
A weekly writing assignment shared with a friend has turned into a gift of words and stories. A number of months ago my friend,...
The Joy of a Garage
Parked in our attached garage you’ll now find my car. Such a small detail to share, but full of meaning. And joy. As...
Amazing Grace
Particularly close to God.
Particularly close to God?
That was the 10 minute free writing assignment that stumped me -...
This is Our Life
On the eve of our town’s fair, “Our World’s Fair,” as it's affectionately known, my daughter, Charlotte,...
Dear Charlotte
Dear Charlotte,
I once wrote a letter a day for 40 days. Give or take a few days. During the season of Lent I gifted myself...
Studies With Charlotte
I still remember the phone call.
Somewhere around my third day in the office figuring out what it meant to be Pastor Kim...