Kimberly Knowle-ZellerBlog
What it Feels Like to be at Peace with Myself
// What it Feels Like to be at Peace with Myself //
To go to the watereven with encroaching deadlinesdishes to clean...
A Blessing for Parenting in the Summer
A Blessing for Parenting in the Summer
Erin Strybis & Kimberly Knowle-Zeller
God of ice cream cones and sun-kissed...
Where I Live
I live in Cole Camp, Missouri, a place that prior to serving as a pastor, I didn’t even know existed. Centrally...
Fourteen Years Ordained as an ELCA Pastor: A state of my call reflection
“Will you give faithful witness in the world, that God’s love may be known in all that you do?” (Questions to candidate at...
Five Moments of Communion
And why the table still matters
One // “I get bread and wine this year!” Charlotte whispers to me every Sunday beginning...
This is How We’ll Make It
This is how we’ll make it
We’ll get up, againturn the news downand turn up the laughterthe knock-knock jokes that have no...
The Summer Slide (Or a lesson on kindness)
I had plans this summer for my kids’ learning. I’m talking about read-alouds to start the day and math work books and fun...
Summer MVP List
Outside the June sun blazes, but inside the house the kids and I clang dishes and glasses making juice and lemonade. It’s...
Every day do something that won’t compute
“Every day do something that won’t compute.” -Wendell Berry
Everyday do something that won’t compute
give...
From the Front Porch
The day my husband and I bring home our rescue dog, Lars, we snap a picture on our front porch. He is young and healthy,...
A Blessing for Walking into the New Year
A Blessing For Walking Into The New Year
You are here
however you got to this point —
maybe by sprint or...
Best of Books for 2023
It’s that time of year for all the best book lists. And I am here for them. Give me the lists of books that nourished you....
A blessing for when it’s hard to give thanks
If the weight of the world presses down on your shouldersand the never ending news cycle brings you to your kneesif...
A Blessing for the Haunted
A Blessing for the Haunted
If you’re crying out in horror and disbeliefif your heart can’t take another news cycleof violence...
I’ll tell you how to get there
I’ll tell you how to get there, how to —
turn at the Cole Camp junction
and pass rolling wheat fields
nursing calves...
Creating Community One Book at a Time
Nestled at picnic tables, sunglasses and hats atop heads, and water bottles at our sides, the kids and I gather with others...
How to celebrate your baby turning 6 years old
How to celebrate your baby turning 6 years old
This experiment may get messy and be full of laughs. You may feel bigger...
A Theology of Summer
Every morning, I take a cup of hot coffee, books, and my journal to the front porch. My eyes rest on multicolored flowers...
What’s Next? (On creating anyway and seeking delight)
One year ago, Erin and I signed the book contract to write The Beauty of Motherhood: Grace-Filled Devotions for the...
The Beauty of Motherhood Writing Tour
On the surface, this picture represents one small moment in time. A weekday morning playgroup at a friend's house. Kids running...
What I learned about community from sitting on my front porch
It started with my front porch. While sitting one morning with my coffee, overlooking the town park, I had the idea to gather...
Thank you, Cole Camp
There's something missing in the acknowledgements for The Beauty of Motherhood: the town of Cole Camp, Missouri.
You...
Let’s Go For a Walk
Saturday covers us with clouds and light rain. Throwing on coats and grabbing the umbrellas, the kids and I take to the sidewalk....
No Small Thing (thoughts from the carpool line)
No Small Thing ---
To pull into the pick up line
a parade of cars and guardians
waiting on a glimpse of our child
to...
What’s Saving My Life Right Now
From the living room we look out to the town park and the setting sun. This time of the year as I’m cooking dinner and the...
A Blessing for the New Year
Comepull up a chairsit by the lightfeel the ground beneath yourest in the stillness of this moment.
Let this blessing meet...
Where I’m From
I am from mixtapes
from Sony walkmans and Tiffany's I Think We’re Alone Now.
I am from the maple trees
rooted, strong,...
Holding a Candle For You
A Timeline of Christmas Eve
2019: The flu sweeps through the children and youth of the congregation canceling the...
Best of Books for 2022
“When you turn the pages of a book, you are practicing the art of attention to keep turning the pages of your own story with...
A Blessing for the Beginning of Advent
This blessing meets you with the early morning dawnwhispering gently, “come, see what the day holds” it rubs your sleepy...
In this house
In this house
We put together puzzles on the hardwood floor. We forget to vacuum the dog's hair. We pile coats on the rocking...
Who are you remembering?
My daughter, Charlotte, turns 8 this Thanksgiving. For the last few weeks (okay, maybe months), she has been making her birthday...
The Darling Files: "It’s okay to be sad, Mama”
I keep looking at the time on top of my screen, the minutes quickly getting closer to 10 am. My foot bounces up and down...
What’s Currently Saving My Life (Fall Edition)
“I do not always stop and notice light but I will continue to try.” (How Far You Have Come, Morgan Harper Nichols)
While...
An Invitation to Do Nothing
If we were sitting down for coffee or taking a walk together, you’d hear stories that encompass three of my callings: mother,...
What the park knows
The moms started coming here over a year ago. One August morning they dropped their kids off for the first day of school...
The surprise found in pink ladies and turning 40
The pink ladies arrived again this August. On time as usual just as one feels the shift in summer to almost fall and the...
A Blessing for the Table
A blessing for the table —for all who hunger and thirstfor peace and justicefriendship and hopehealing and grace, come to...
Dispatches from a sick bed, and a word of hope
Dear Friends,
This letter is coming to you after a week of it’s-not-covid-it’s-not-strep-but-it’s-awful-and-I-can’t-get-out-of-bed....
Ordinary Inspiration
“I would like to write a poem about the world that has in itnothing fancy.” *
But then
My daughter looks at me with her...
Ten Ways to Stop Being a Writer
Ten Ways to Stop Being a Writer
Get sick. Isolate from your family for fear you finally succumbed to Covid....
Walking to 40 (an update)
Last week the kids, my mom, and I took another hike for #40hikesfor40years at a local botanical garden. In a matter...
Want to walk?
The text message arrived: It looks kind of cold tomorrow, but if anyone would like to join us on a trail walk at our place...
This blessing is for you
This blessing is for youYou can find it in the reheated cups of coffeeThe piles of laundry scattered around your houseUnderneath...
Lord, let my heart be good soil
Lord, let my heart be good soil, open to the seed of your word. Lord, let my heart be good soil, where love can grow and...
February Garden Report
February Garden Report // At first look there doesn’t seem to be much growth. The air is cold and the sun’s light is scant...
A day in the life
6:20 AM // I hear the flick of the light switch in the hall followed by footsteps. My alarm hasn’t gone off yet, but the...
What’s currently saving my life
"When I started feeling the drag of winter, I began to treat myself like a favored child: with kindness and love. I assumed...
A new year’s wish
My seven-year-old daughter had three wishes for Santa this year: glow sticks, a math book, and an Elsa kite. Thankfully Santa...
Walking to 40
I’ve never been against running, per say. Unless you consider how I despise the heaviness I feel in my lungs when running,...
2021 Good List
It’s easy to see all the ways our lives have changed and shifted due to the pandemic. We all could make a list of the things...
Receiving joy with open hands
Tucked behind the bustle of Chicago’s Michigan avenue I found a secret place for receiving joy - a Ghirardelli chocolate...
On the night you were born
On the night you were bornwe waited and waitedI bounced on a ballsat in whirlpoolwhispered prayers over and over:“We are...
Life in one line a day
October 26, 2016: Stephen got his car project, the Suburban, started with the help of someone from church! Dreary day, perfect...
Searching for beauty in scraps of paper
Scraps of paper litter our house: on the table, scattered on the floor, strewn about the couch. If there’s an open space,...
This is what I love about the dark
This is what I love about the dark[an attempt to unmask my fear]
Looking up to a sky full of stars
Being forced to slow...
What the mornings are teaching me
Let me tell you the story behind this picture:
For years I made up excuse after excuse for why I couldn’t get up early:
I...
Why I Walk
My name is Kim, and I am a walker.
For years I’ve walked. Any good friend and family member knows this about me: if I invite...
Are we there yet?
Earlier this month I led a zoom session on contemplative journaling with a group of creative mama’s. We listened to poetry...
The Life-Changing Magic of Early Mornings
My eyes focus on the purple petunias before me, their color illuminated against the blue sky. I watch the leaves dance to...
Strengthening Roots
Each morning and evening I walk to the garden. In the morning the light falls on the bird bath nestled between pepper plants,...
These are the days
These are the daysI see the words on an Instagram squareperfectly lettered curated and filteredin just the right light.
These...
When you pray, move your feet
When you pray, move your feet.One foot after anothermoving, falling, stepping, prayer.When you pray, move your feet. One...
What the camera roll shows
I don’t remember when I received my first camera, but I remember, though, the pictures I snapped and what it felt like to...
Why I go to the water
Hello, water at my feet.Hello, you who brings forth lifeand cradles the duck and heronand reflects the sun and starsand provides...
A look back in love
On March 15, 2020 I started a google doc: COVID -19 Journal. The first words came easily: Dear Isaac and Charlotte. I addressed...
Creating a place to land
In our family, I get the title: creative. I write. I delight in baking. I send snail mail. I color and make crafts with the...
Stream of consciousness
Currently, the wind chimes out front are clanging and providing music. The snow flurries that fell this morning are already...
A lesson on paying attention
To a three year old, a magnifying glass is the greatest thing to have on a hike. My son who generally asks for snacks every...
Once upon a time there was a little girl
Once upon a time
The other morning, settled in the darkness, before my alarm went off, I heard Charlotte’s voice declare,...
The taste of peanut butter
After days of clouds and momentary glimpses of the sun, today I have to shield my eyes from the light as I drive. I listen...
Reflecting joy
The school morning brings the same routine: wake up, get dressed, breakfast, start the coffee, brush teeth, pack lunch, sight...
The holiness of motherhood
“Turn here, Mama!” I follow Charlotte’s finger and turn the car. On our left the one-story church building stands on a small...
Dear Writer - Let’s go camping
Over the next few weeks, I plan to share a series of letters written to a writer. Or perhaps more accurately, written to...
Rest in the water
Rushing water calls
through the forest, asking me
are you listening?
*A collection of...
A Birthday Prayer
Dear Isaac,
Even when you’re asleep, I keep you close to me. Literally, right now I have the monitor next to me at my desk....
Dear Writer - Let’s go for a hike
Over the next few weeks, I plan to share a series of letters written to a writer. Or perhaps more accurately, written to...
Dear Writer
Over the next few weeks, I plan to share a series of letters written to a writer. Or perhaps more accurately, written to...
A worthy pastime
Clanging through the gray skies trying to turn blue, the town siren sounds. “It’s noon! It’s noon,” Isaac says as his dinosaurs...
Where the Light Lands
From where I’m sitting I see a few remaining puddles on the road. With my computer turned on and open to Facebook I sit and...
Preschool Lessons
I raise my voice above their fighting, “It’s time for Ms. Lucy. Come over here and wait for her.”
It's been our weekday...
From Charlotte’s Eyes
I see the notification pop up on Facebook alerting me to a new post from our daughter’s preschool teacher. My computer sits...
Coloring our Prayers
“Sleep with me Mama?” Isaac asks me, his blue eyes eager and his hand reaching out to me. I place my hand in his and follow...
Finding Hope and Lost Teeth
“You want to play basketball with us?” With a bouncy ball in hand, Isaac lifts his arm poised to throw as he waits for my...
Good night dolls, Good night Charlotte
I stand at the edge of the door, hand poised to switch the light off, only minutes away from being able to rest. The days...
A Lifetime of Letters
The sound of the van driving into my compound drew more than just my attention. No one could miss the white van, covered...
If You’re Ready...
I began this week attending the ordination of a colleague. Throughout the service I was touched and inspired by the prayers,...
Birthday Joy
Scrolling through videos on my phone I find one from when Charlotte is not even 6 months old. She’s in a blue and white dress...
Acknowledgements
My brown leather bag lays next to me on the passenger side seat between the diaper bag, my purse, and library books. A light...
Write Anyway
I find the blue journal tucked in an office drawer. It’s cover feels soft despite being worn with age. The blue flowers swirl...
A Trip to Omaha - A Lesson in Joy
After a day of rain the sun now shines. A breeze touches our faces and lingering rain drops sparkle on the grass and...
My Alleluia Song
With the hum of the noise machine and Isaac’s bedroom door cracked open we snuggle on the rocking chair. I hear the dog’s...
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...