RECENT POSTS
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
How to Talk With Siblings About Disability
How should I talk with my typically-developing kids about a brother or sister who has a disability? As the mother of an 18-year-old with Down
Applying to the Emerging Pathways Program
Penny just submitted her application for an “emerging pathways” program on a local University campus. She spent hours filling out the forms and working on
Reimagining the Good Life. Disability. Faith. Culture.
Reimagining the Good Life. Disability. Faith. Culture. After months and months of conversation, that’s where we’ve landed as a concise way to invite people to
Reimagining Lent
Today is the first day of Lent, the church season of preparation for Easter. It’s a good time to reconsider this faith. For me this
Reimagining the Good Life Podcast
Apple YouTube Spotify More! This podcast has a new name: Reimagining the Good Life. If you’re asking, “Why a name change?” and “Why now?”—I have
If You’re a Parent Who Has Received a Hard Diagnosis About Your Child
If you are a parent who has recently received a hard diagnosis about your child, I have three thoughts that I want to offer. One,
The Disability Community Needs Grandparents Like These
I spoke with the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress Grandparents support group this week by Zoom, and what struck me most was that they all just
When Gratitude Interrupts
Last week, everything fell apart. Marilee got Covid, which came with a fever approaching 105. The car broke down and needed to be taken in
