Anxiety/Fear
What Energizes Me? Anxiety or Love?
Anxiety often wakes me up in the morning (not to mention in the middle of the night). My concern over the to-do list and my
A Few Things I Learned From Writing About Prenatal Testing
24 hours after my essay for the New York Times came out online, I learned it was also in the print edition! So that was
Anticipating Joy
“Anxiety is anticipated terror. Hope is anticipated joy.” I heard theologian Jürgen Moltmann say this to fellow theologian Miroslav Volf on a podcast a long
Receive Healing: Ask for Help
After we pay attention to pain, the second step to healing is to ask for help. There are two ways we can ask for help.
When Pain Remains
A few weeks ago, I had a mild panic attack. My neck and shoulder had been hurting all day. But all of a sudden, the
What Is Not Mine to Carry?
My shoulder started to hurt the day our kids went back to school after Thanksgiving break. I hadn’t done anything to injure it. Not even
Talking About Pain: Helpful or Harmful?
Last week, I read a series of seven articles in the NYT that considered chronic pain from a variety of different angles. As someone who
On 9/11, We Remember That Love Is Stronger Than Fear
[If you are looking for my Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast, please go here.] Evil is always (and only) a distortion of the good.
Anxiety Is Fuel for Achievement
“Anxiety has served me as a fuel for achievement, but it has failed me as a guide to getting well.” – To Be Made Well
Body Prayer: A Guide
Over the past few weeks, I’ve shared stories of various parts of my body. When my body aches, or when I get sick, I have
Emotional Disability
Is it possible that many adults in America have an emotional disability? That we have been taught to repress our feelings and rely on our
Body Prayer: Throat
I used to “lose my voice” often when I needed to speak in public. I canceled multiple events because I couldn’t creak out the words
Tired of Myself, but God Is Not Tired of Me
I make the same mistakes, commit the same sins, turn back to the same unhelpful habits over and over again. For me, these repetitive issues
Body Prayer: Nose
I started sneezing when we were driving home from an end-of-the-summer vacation. I sneezed maybe a dozen times? I said out loud, “Am I suddenly
Pain Is Like a Flashing Light
Pain is like a flashing light, and sometimes, if I pay attention to the message it is sending, the light stops flashing. My physical pain
The Language of the Body
What if our everyday expressions could help us experience less physical pain? Our language connects our bodies to our feelings, even when we refuse to
The Most Important Work Is Repair
I said something to Penny a few days ago that made her cry, which makes me think today of the important work of repair. I
Feeling Our Feelings as a Family
So I’m learning about feeling my feelings these days (as you might have noticed from some other posts). And I’m trying to teach our kids
