What are we to do with the natural shoulds that often accompany life? You should be kind to other people. You should eat the food your mama serves you. You should strive to do your best, to limit screen time, to breathe in nature whenever possible. You should eat a healthy diet. You should work hard. And according to Scripture, you should love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And also love your neighbor... Read more
As I was reading a parenting book this last week, a statement about a particular kind of theory caught my attention. The authors were talking about attachment theory, you see, a theory that is a “psychological explanation for the emotional bonds and relationships between people.” As it goes within the realm of parenting, children often need to employ all of their senses in order to reestablish relationships with their parent or parents. They need to touch, taste, see, hear, and... Read more
We all crave wholeness. We all crave truth. Yesterday, my family hit up the localist of local baseball games: we jumped in our car, right around 12:30 to attend our first-ever Oakland Ballllllersssssss game. It was everything a minor league baseball game should be: a couple of food trucks, one with garlic noodles, another with ballpark nachos. Familiar faces, a giggling kind of laughter, wholesome, good hometown fun. Autographs from the players and the chance for our younger son to... Read more
I am reminded of a scene from 15, 20 years ago, about a singular story with a mostly singular point of view. As some of you know, I used to be in full-time ministry with an organization that primarily worked with middle school and high school kids. During the summer, we went to camp. A lot. We took kids (which is to say, the students we worked with) to camp and we attended camp ourselves, as speakers and activities directors,... Read more
In our house, there is typically one rule I try and employ to my nine and eleven-year old children: You will show kindness. You will be kind, in other words. You will be a kind human toward your brother. Of course, I generally say this when a lack of kindness is evident. Take a couple days ago, for instance: I’d just picked the boys up from school. It’s mid-afternoon, a time some might say is getting dangerously close to the... Read more
Perhaps like some of you, in the fall, my weekends are filled with soccer. I’m not talking about professional futbal on television, I’m talking about the 9-and 11-year youth soccer variety. Yesterday was no exception. When my younger son took a free kick from the corner (not a corner kick, mind you), the ball sailed through the air and landed right in front of the goal. But there wasn’t a man there. What were the Flaming Hot Cheetos to do?... Read more
It’s fine to say you love your neighbor as yourself, but what does that actually look like in practice? How do you actually live out your ultimate rule? As one theologian reminds us, “to follow only the ‘love God” commands is to only half-follow the Ten Commandments. In order to love God properly, one must properly love their neighbors, even the neighbors with whom one disagrees.” UGH. How then do we love our neighbors? One of my favorite nonprofit organizations... Read more
Have you ever felt desperate for thirst? So hungry for food that you would have done anything to get food into your belly, stat? Just about a year ago, a friend of mine decided that to celebrate her 50th birthday, she would invite a handful of girlfriends to trek up a really tall mountain with her. Although I would have rather celebrated the occasion with a fruity drink by an ocean in Mexico, I said yes to the adventure of... Read more
Can I tell you a short story, dear reader? It’s a story of remembering, a story of childhood, a story of camp. — But for the small, antiquated sign on the side of the highway, you could easily miss the turn-off for camp. Once you passed the Dairy Queen and drove through the towns of Boring and Welches, you knew you were getting close. Pass the hardware store, you’d gone too far. I remember becoming so transfixed by the Douglas firs... Read more
Have you ever felt so desperate for something, you’d do anything to make desperation go away? Last month, my boys and I embarked on a two-week road trip through Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, and even a tiny slice of Montana. We camped. We stayed in guest bedrooms and an RV and a run-down motel by the side of I-80 in Winnemucca, Nevada. We ate more fast food than we probably should have, but we also drank healthy amounts of chocolate... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In