Storytelling

Windows

Every story in one place, newest first. Open a Window to read it—and, as episodes are released, hear it spoken on the podcast.

The complete collection

Open a Window

True stories from ordinary life—places where grace, grief, humor, and hope open into something larger.

A Freedmen’s menu featuring a portrait and history of Reverend Jacob Fontaine

Window 11

The Unmarked Grave

A walk through an Austin cemetery and lunch at Freedmen’s reveal the difference between making a name and making a difference.

5 minute read 7 minute listen

Blue the Border Terrier looking up from a paved path

Window 10

What Blue Knew

Still wondering what to do with your life? Maybe we should take a few clues from Blue the Border Terrier.

5 minute read 7 minute listen

A wedge of Roquefort cheese and a knife on a wooden board

Window 9

Roquefort

A first taste of French cheese becomes a window into wonder, gratitude, and learning to receive the world as a gift.

8 minute read 12 minute listen

A sepia-toned Doug Rader Houston Astros baseball card

Window 8

I Got Doug Rader!

A nickel, a pack of baseball cards, and the childhood joy that still has something to teach us.

6 minute read 8 minute listen

A pair of black Rollerblades resting on a carpeted floor

Window 7

The Rollerblades in the Trunk

A bruising lesson in competence, shame, and the courage to stay long enough to become a beginner.

8 minute read 11 minute listen

Wendell Berry reading in a chair beside a window

Window 6

Wendell Berry

A small testimony to the writer who taught me that everything signifies because everything belongs.

9 minute read 15 minute listen

A close-up black-and-white photograph of a tick on a rough surface

Window 5

Don’t Be a Tick

Ticks take. Jesus gives. A walk in the woods offers a useful question for the soul.

5 minute read 7 minute listen

A can of Bud Light against a dark, softly lit background

Window 3

Will There Be Beer in Heaven?

A grieving widow’s question about resurrection—and whether love survives death.

6 minute read 7 minute listen