by Tara Johnson “You need to wear your son out.” I blinked slowly, trying to understand what the older woman who had approached me had said, a task made difficult by my son’s screams of temper and my own strangled nerves. I felt frayed. Exhausted. At the end of my rope. The excursion into Walmart was not going well. I’d had high hopes for the grocery store run. After all, my son’s terrible two fits were getting better. I had been diligent with him at Read More
Splinters in the Windmills of My Mind
The Preacher’s Kids Part 2: Don’t Kill the Guppies
by Tara Johnson I was surprised seeing all the hands raised in the room. A room filled with inmates. I was surprised but not shocked. When I asked the inmates at Tucker prison if there were any preacher’s kids in the audience, at least one sixth of those in attendance raised their hands, sheepish smiles ghosting their faces. From PK to inmate. How does it happen? And why are preacher’s kids, those who have been raised in the faith, leaving their churches as adults? Let’s Read More
The Fishbowl, the Glass house and Other Annoyingly Transparent Cages: The Life of the Preacher’s Kid
by Tara Johnson They see much. They hear more than you think. And all of it leaves an indelible impression on their young hearts. Who am I speaking of? I’m talking about the preacher’s kid. Speaking as a PK, I can tell you that being on the ministry front lines is a unique experience. You see it all: the good, the bad and the…cranky. For most, being thrust into such a colorful and eye-opening existence is usually accompanied with, what I call, God’s coping mechanism: Read More