Reading has been a gift to our family. It’s a gift when the kids read on their own! But also when we get to snuggle up together and enjoy a story that takes us to unusual times or places and yet still connects to who we are as humans right here and now. Every […]
On World Down Syndrome Day, Some Thoughts on Beauty, Vulnerability, and Love
Dear friends, Last week I told our kids that today is World Down Syndrome Day, a day across the globe to celebrate the lives of those living among us with Down syndrome. Marilee promptly suggested that Penny should receive breakfast in bed, presents, and no chores for the day. William promptly protested that he doesn’t […]
My latest piece for CT Today, “Give Your Kids the Gift of Absence”
I have a new post over at Christianity Today. Click here to read my latest piece, “Give Your Kids the Gift of Absence.”
When God Doesn’t Clean Up the Mess in Your Life
There are two ways for light to shine. There is overpowering light. Like the light of highbeams on a road at night. The light of the sun that makes us forget the stars and the rest of the universe even exist. Light so bright it hurts our eyes. Light that can even, ironically, blind […]
What if You Don’t Need to Be Successful? (Or, Advent Reflections on Joy)
I was grumpy for a few years. Maybe not every day. But most days. And at the core of my being, deep inside my heart, lay a stone, a slowly growing bitter stone of resentment and self-pity. I told myself it was because of my circumstances. In 2012, we moved with three children six and […]
When You Want to Say “&%$!” to God (Or: Advent Reflections on Hope)
I was reading from the early chapters of Luke as a part of getting ready for Christmas, and I came to the moment when the angel appears to Mary. So the Bible translation I read says that when the angel appears Mary feels “greatly troubled.” Translating that into what I might say inside my […]
