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The invitations we accept

The other day I received an encouraging note from a reader of Holiness Here, and this is part of what he said: “Pages 81 and half of 82 are ‘gold’ for me. I have been frustrated by a good friend. You know ...

Just Look at What can be Made

The other day, although I had been driving all day long to get home and really should have been busy packing my bag to fly to Vancouver the next morning, I drove another two laps across the city to see a painting ...

We are Family: Friendship and Karaoke

A few months ago, I allowed myself to be swept off my feet and into a karaoke evening at a local pub. This is not something I normally do. I’m not a singer. I will however, give a plug here for group ...

The Creative Non-Fiction of our own Lives

The other day when the light turned green at Arlington and Bronson, I paused for a second before easing Henry (remember, that’s the name of my car) left on Bronson, and past the Burrito Gringo I do not go to. The pause ...

Reading as water and a warm thing to say to a widow

The first time I went to the Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, it was to hear the writer Anne Lamott speak. She was her warm, funny self, full of writing and life advice for an auditorium ...

What are you making?

I'm no farmer. But when I saw this little painting at an art show in our neighbourhood, I wondered if I should think of myself as one, at least for a little while. I resonated with the image immediately and it brought ...

A new book is coming

In July of 2022 I signed a book contract with NavPress. It flickered through my mind back then to post one of those "author signs her contract" photos on Facebook, but being a person with a certain doomsday posture, I did not. ...

When I look I can see the good

Here is some of what has been good, because I know you would have told me to look for it, and to reach toward it and name it when I find it. Our children. How they reach out across the chasm you ...

Last Good Friday

Our church in Ottawa asks people of the pews to share on Good Friday, and last year I was one of them. Each speaker is assigned a portion of scripture which are the words Jesus spoke from the cross.  "Why did I ...

The most precious and painful thing I will ever write

The obituary of the Rev. Dr. Canon Gordon Brent Stiller “Look at that golden light!” That is what Brent would say as he steered a boat past the woods and the rocks of the Kawartha Lakes at a certain time in the ...

Bye bye to my dog

Dewey was born almost 14 years ago, in an Ontario town I can't recall. He was the only boy puppy left of his litter, and he sat timidly in the back of the pen, trembling amongst all the girls vying to come ...

Small space, big space

The other day I walked by a young girl who lives on our street, sitting outside on the bottom step, reading a book. I felt an instant camaraderie with her, as a reader, first, but specifically as an outdoor reader. When we ...

Karen Stiller's Newsyletter

Every now and then I write a short e-newsletter. I’d love to have you join.

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