In about a week and a half, we will celebrate the first anniversary of moving our family of five + dog into a darling but smaller-than-average house in a new state. A smaller-than-average house was exactly what I needed, as I am not overly fond of cleaning and I prefer to keep my children in […]
Sunday on the Steps
A couple of days ago, I optimistically toted my two-year-old to a no-nursery Bible study event. I don’t have still, quiet children and this kind of scenario has never worked out for me, but I felt God nudging me to go, child-in-tow. So, what else could I do? I girded myself with cereal snacks, a […]
The Beautiful Inefficient
In the midst of the recession that marked the late 2000s, I took a community and economic position in the community with the second highest unemployment rate in the nation. It was a wonderful community in a terrible crisis. Community, business, and education leaders were motivated to turn things around, but funds were scarce and […]
I’m 38, and I’m looking forward to turning 40. Here’s Why.
I am 38 years old, and more and more in conversations I find myself saying, “I’m practically 40!” I realize that is an odd thing to do: to round up to a middle-age birthday. It’s not that I’m wishing away today, when my arms are full of precious little boys and my days are full […]
On the Value of Silence in the Faith Writer’s Life
A few months ago, I prayed that God would just shut my mouth. I prayed that he would shut my mouth and still my fingers and silence my roar, if the goal of my mouth and my words and my roaring wasn’t to glorify him. And you know what? He did it. I haven’t been […]
How To Live a Life Bigger Than Offense
I have a problem with offense, and I bet you have one too. I’m not saying this as an indictment: just more of a fact. We are creating and receiving endless amounts of unfiltered, de-personalized content at all hours of the day (and night), and some of it ranges from insensitive to hate speech. We […]