Julianne Vantland

When the Certainties Fail Us: Spiritual Direction for Recovering Evangelicals

When I was 10 my family moved from our small New England town to the suburban sprawl of Colorado Springs. We quickly joined a mega church and reformed fundamentalism washed into our lives like hurricane, wiping out our simple family faith practices and replacing them with the debris of 500 years of culture wars, systematicContinue reading “When the Certainties Fail Us: Spiritual Direction for Recovering Evangelicals”

Equinox

I open my arms to autumn. To the coming darkness and death of old rhythms. I open my arms to the cleansing cold, to coziness and rest. I open my arms to whatever my body may need as we continue this wild hurling through space around that brilliant star that both warms and warns us. I open my arms in greeting, and in releasing.

Gratitude and Grief

It’s been 7 years since we lost our first child. Selah. She was just a small wisp of a person. We discovered her existence and then mourned her parting in the space of a week. Easter week. One bright blue pregnancy test, then another, weaker, a few days later. Then the blood. It was soContinue reading “Gratitude and Grief”

De-centering Whiteness While Working To Decolonize My Thanksgiving Mythology: a lesson in humility

Last week I attended a cultural celebration at our local literacy center. The room was bright and full of music and movement and my kids bounced from table to table trying their hand at crafts from communities all over the world. While they were working on a smudging feather with a woman at the IndigenousContinue reading “De-centering Whiteness While Working To Decolonize My Thanksgiving Mythology: a lesson in humility”

From Reformed to Rohr: how a good girl with all the answers found God in all the wrong places

I first encountered Father Richard Rohr few years ago in podcast form. My children were still toddlers and the gym was my one hour of silence to listen to something that wasn’t pbs kids and to think my own thoughts uninterrupted. I stretched out on a yoga mat after my workout, my earbud headphones dangling downContinue reading “From Reformed to Rohr: how a good girl with all the answers found God in all the wrong places”

How This CBT Technique Can Help You Win Over Your Inner Bully [Guest Post at The Mighty]

I’m a regular contributor at The Mighty, an organization that has been a source of comfort, support and endless resources for me over the last few years. I write there about the ways that mental illness and the pursuit of wellness weave through our family, marriage, parenting, and friendships. If you are also on this path, IContinue reading “How This CBT Technique Can Help You Win Over Your Inner Bully [Guest Post at The Mighty]”

Mental Health, Marriage, and Faith: a podcast conversation with Melissa Smallwood

Last week I had the pleasure of chatting with my friend Melissa Smallwood on her podcast Saving Our Stories. I was totally unprepared for how profoundly the experience would touch me, it was such a gift to have an open and honest conversation about something that is so often taboo in everyday conversation. Melissa is doing aContinue reading “Mental Health, Marriage, and Faith: a podcast conversation with Melissa Smallwood”

Some Light Blinds, Some Illuminates: I Once Was Right But Now I See

In the chaos of upended routines and travel and summer heat, words have been coming to me fast and wild, unplanned reflections and questions and poems born out of a swirling cacophony of new experiences and ideas crashing into old rhythms and assumptions. Like pouring from a full pitcher, each time inspiration struck the flowContinue reading “Some Light Blinds, Some Illuminates: I Once Was Right But Now I See”

Marriage and Borderline Personality Disorder (New Post at The Mighty)

I am thrilled to announce I’ve become a contributor at The Mighty, an organization that has been a source of comfort, support and endless resources for me over the last few years. I look forward to sharing more there about the ways that mental illness and the pursuit of wellness weave through our family, marriage, parenting,Continue reading “Marriage and Borderline Personality Disorder (New Post at The Mighty)”

The MoMs

I performed this piece at The Horse’s Mouth Storytelling night in Lexington, KY. You can watch it here, beginning around the 12 minute mark. I would also encourage you to listen to the other fabulous women sharing stories around the theme Mothers And Others. It was a wonderful night! Today is my 30th birthday. FiveContinue reading “The MoMs”