Echols: ‘This past year has been a test for my faith’
“How do I write openly about the God I worship even as I do not understand why he is allowing such painful things to take place in our city?”
Candace Echols
Candace Echols is a Midtown resident, wife, and mother of five. A regular contributor to The Daily Memphian, she is a freelance writer who also recently published her first book, the children’s book “Josephine and the Quarantine.”
There are 122 articles by Candace Echols :
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September 2023
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Opinion Echols: Celebrating the ‘verbal waltz’ of Mississippians
“Not all Mississippians have gotten it right throughout history, and that’s easy to see. But what we can learn from the natives who speak rightly is how to convey difficult ideas with gentleness.”
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August 2023
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Opinion Echols: Older people, please come to church
“Young people need people who have a different perspective not only in race or gender or socioeconomic status, but in age.”
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Guest Columnists Echols: Questions to reframe how we think about Memphis
“People in our city are considering a lot right now. We are thinking through family histories that are long, friendships that are time-tested, and roots that run deep. “
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Guest Columnists Echols: ‘Memphis, we must not overlook each other’
“Our people are gold. They’re not the type you just walk out on. ... The everyday folks that make up Memphis are awesome.”
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Guest Columnists Echols: A column for those who’ve had a brush with Christianity
“Perhaps they grew up going to church, but it felt dull. Perhaps they went to Christian school, but didn’t click with their classmates. Perhaps they had a sibling or a friend or a mother who prayed for them, but it never really took.”
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July 2023
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Guest Columnists Echols: Things that are true, right, pure, honorable and lovely. (Literally.)
“There are seasons when darkness snuffs out creativity. But every time we make something new and beautiful — something life-giving and delightful — we push back on all that darkness.”
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Guest Columnists Echols: The first question we will be asked
“You don’t have to live long to realize life on this earth is decidedly short. Eternity, on the other hand, is just that: eternal.”
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Opinion Echols: Top 10 faves at the beach
“Families who come here annually may well have their rhythms and traditions, but in the case that mine and yours don’t cross over and you’d like to try something new, here are a few suggestions straight from my very own family.”
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Opinion Echols: Let London have Wimbledon. Baseball is America’s pastime.
“We would head back to Busch Stadium and find our spot on the fold-down, red plastic chairs — the ones you would have to peel the backs of your thighs off of each time you would stand up to cheer. Because it was hot. So, so hot.”
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June 2023
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Guest Columnists Echols: What is your Nashville, Night Three?
“The Taylor vibe was strong not only on stage but also in the crowd, and it came out in how her fans looked and in how they sang, in how happy they were to be in her presence and in how they were a unified reflection of the one they came to see.”
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Guest Columnists Echols: Lessons we learn from the father
As families celebrate Father’s Day, Candace Echols details the lessons she’s learned from her husband — including that wrestling has some actual value.
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Guest Columnists Echols: Like a cool cup of water on a very hot day
“That small smile created a bridge and invited me to walk across — if only by smiling back. As a society, we are fractured in a million jagged ways ... that smile was a step toward reconnection.”
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May 2023
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Premium
Memphis GrizzliesMama Bear: From forgotten shoes to dogsitting, Luke Kennard’s mom is there
It’s not easy to become a shooting guard for the Memphis Grizzlies, but Luke Kennard wasn’t alone. “It became who we were as a family,” said mother Jennifer Kennard. “And we loved it, but it required a lot of us all to make it happen.”
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Premium
Memphis GrizzliesMama Bear: Xavier Tillman’s mom dreamed of NBA Draft Day
Tanya Powell-May is a CPA and CEO, with a college basketball background of her own. With a son like Memphis Grizzlies’ big man Xavier Tillman Sr., she knew success was coming.
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Premium
Memphis GrizzliesMama Bear: Mom’s at the heart of Jones family business
Debbie Jones, the mother of Memphis Grizzlies player Tyus Jones and San Antonio Spurs player Tre Jones, spent her fair share of hours in the gym when her sons were growing up.
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April 2023
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Guest Columnists Echols: ‘And that’s Easter’
“I’ll admit that the Easter bunny is cute and tons of fun – he swings by our house every year. The eggs are nice. The flowers are a delight. In their own ways, they all point to new life. But there is nothing that compares with celebrating what it means for humanity that Jesus walked out of that tomb.”
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Guest Columnists Echols: ‘This is our chance to love our sister city’
“Memphis — tough, strong, seasoned Memphis — this is our chance to be soft. This is our chance to love our sister city — to be the ones who understand. This is our chance to be with.”
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March 2023
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Guest Columnists Echols: ‘The salve I need on this long journey home’
“I think maybe every time I’ve left a piece of my heart somewhere, I have been cataloging signposts — signposts that point to a place where all good things will not come to an end.”
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Opinion Echols: Taking shelter together
“Those two elderly people have lived long in this place — this Memphis we’re in now. They’ve seen a whole lot of water flow under that bridge downtown.”
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Guest Columnists Echols: ‘But still I wonder’
“While we might not agree on where to get the best pizza in town or which is the best Memphis in May band, we may find we totally see eye-to-eye on the ideal spot to catch a stunning sunset.”
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February 2023
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Guest Columnists Echols: ‘I know that peace that they’re talking about’ at Asbury University
“I’ve experienced all of that, and Scripture backs those descriptions as by-products of walking with Jesus. Once you’ve seen stuff like that, it’s hard to keep it to yourself. It’s kinda like this: When you have tasted Pancho’s cheese dip, you can’t not tell other people about it when they come to our city.”
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Opinion Echols: The world waits
“One morning, not too far off, we will wake up, we will go outside, and we will discover that while we were sleeping, something that looks an awful lot like mercy has visited our natural world.”
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Guest Columnists Echols: A letter to the men of Memphis
“Our lives have been stolen from us. Even the biggest, baddest, most intimidating woman you know is looking over her shoulder at every turn.”
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Guest Columnists Echols: Memphians who are working to ‘push back the dark’
“With the minutes and hours and days they are given — in big and small ways — these otherwise ordinary folks are pushing back the dark by trumpeting hope to the world around them.”
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