Fear of the Future and Finding Goodness
I expected to need tissues on the day Penny finished high school. I expected a sense of deep loss, and perhaps even dread about what lies ahead. For many kids with…
Penny Turns 18
Our daughter Penny turns 18 today. She’s not at home with us, as it turns out. Rather, she is at a retreat center with a group of other teenagers for…
COGNOSCENTI | The future I imagine for my daughter
The future is uncertain. After high school, should Penny go to a community college? Will she be segregated and only socialize with peers with intellectual disabilities? I experienced a similar…
Inclusion vs the Real World
I’ve had to learn not to sacrifice our daughter on the altar of my ideology. When Penny was a toddler, I read an article about a teenager with Down syndrome…
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Another School Shooting: Is There Light in the Darkness?
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” –Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Strength to Love I went…
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 time ago. For some reason,…
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. This world was created good,…
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 through my throat. Once I…
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 allergic to something?” From the…
How Love Is Like a Vaccine
What if love is like a vaccine against fear? Many of us approach this Inauguration Day with hope. Hope that we will turn a corner on this pandemic. Hope for…
