RECENT POSTS
Don’t You Care If We Drown?
“Don’t you care?” I’ve prayed that prayer more than once. In the middle of a conflict with Peter that seemed irreconcilable. In the moments when
What Happens with Three Days Away with Your Teenager
I’ve never taken a mother-daughter trip with Marilee before. But this year over spring break, Marilee and I spent four nights together in Jamaica. I
Why Disability, Faith, Culture?
It was relatively easy to land on “Reimagining the Good Life” as my new tagline and the new title of my podcast. Those words helped
Assume That I Can, Maybe I Will
“Assume I can, and maybe I will.” It’s a new ad campaign designed to raise awareness about the assumptions people have about people with Down
World Down Syndrome Day 2024
Happy World Down Syndrome Day! Our daughter Penny is 18, and we join thousands of other people around the globe who want to raise awareness
S7 E 12 | Reimagining Church Leadership and Disability with Andrew Draper
Apple YouTube Spotify More! Why does it matter that most churches don’t welcome people with disabilities in leadership? If a church excludes people with disabilities,
Two-Year Anniversary of To Be Made Well
Do you want to be made well? It’s a question that Jesus asks, but it’s also a question we can ask ourselves. Whether we are
3 Ways to Interact With Your Disengaged Teenager
We now officially have three teenagers under our roof. Which means we have lots of pop music playing at all hours. And we go through
Penny’s Final Night of Cheerleading
I don’t know why I wasn’t weepy with Penny’s final night of cheerleading. Maybe I’m in total denial that her time in high school is
How Jesus Changes the Story of Disability
Go where Jesus goes. See who Jesus sees. Tell the story that Jesus tells. I had a chance to preach at Matthews United Methodist Church
COMMENT MAGAZINE | The Blurring Is Part of the Beauty
Every summer our family of five travels to Nauvoo, Alabama, for one week. It’s an unusual decision—we leave the relatively cool nights and sunshiny days
S7 E11 | Flannery O’Connor and the Prophetic Imagination with Jessica Hooten Wilson
Apple YouTube Spotify More! Why would a Christian author immerse her stories in darkness? Why would she use violent imagery that directly relates to Christianity,
Healing Our Narratives
A friend recently pointed out that I need to experience healing in the midst of the false narratives I tell myself. As some of you
Changing Prepositions (from “for” to “with”)
As a part of an ongoing desire to honor Penny’s capacities as an adult with Down syndrome, I’m learning to change my prepositions. I keep
February Favorites 2024
Here are nine of the books, movies, podcasts, and essays that helped me learn, think, and grow this past month… 1. Book: Practicing the Way
Mothers Can Pass Along Belovedness
What if, as mothers, we believed our own belovedness and passed that belief along to our daughters? I really appreciated Alexandra D’Amour’s essay for the
Finding Peace in the Midst of the Storm
When I’m home with a sick kid for the third week in a row, when Peter and I repeat the same conflict week after week,
Down Syndrome Through the Ages
How did ancient cultures treat people with Down syndrome? Researchers just discovered the remains of a few babies with Down syndrome from thousands of years
COGNOSCENTI | Why our family still makes time for church on Sundays
“On Sunday mornings, our family does something unusual. We wake our three teenagers earlier than they want, shower and dress up a little bit, and
Penny’s Senior Night as a Cheerleader
If you had told me when she was born that our daughter with Down syndrome would be a Varsity cheerleader at our local high school,
S7 E 10 | Disability and the Language We Use with Andrew Leland
Apple YouTube Spotify More! Is blindness an incidental characteristic, like hair color? Or is it an identity? What language should we use to talk about
