When The Heart Waits: Chapter 5

Last updated on: July 15, 2015 at 8:16 am By Michelle Van Loon

Sue Monk Kidd tackled midlife transition in her 1990 classic When The Heart Waits: Spiritual Direction for Life’s Sacred Questions. I’m blogging my way through the book. (Click here to read previous installments in this series.) Monk Kidd’s gentle observations have been helpful to many facing their own emotional and spiritual changes at this life stage. Chapter 5 is entitled “Letting Go”*. She notes most of us enter transition with a good measure of ambivalence, citing the process of metamorphosis as... Read more

How’s Your Soul? Check Your Facebook Feed.

Last updated on: July 11, 2015 at 7:24 am By Michelle Van Loon

It’s the day after a holiday weekend, and I check in on Facebook. I scroll through my newsfeed and see pictures of a gathering of some of my old friends at a beach house, baby pictures from a former coworker, blurry shots of smiling faces at a family reunion, and a few random selfies of people I barely know atttending a concert. Journalist H.L. Mencken once defined Puritanism as the suspicion that someone, somewhere is having a good time. Neither Puritans... Read more

Review: The Road To Character

Last updated on: July 7, 2015 at 8:32 pm By Michelle Van Loon

My general belief is that we’ve accidentally left this moral tradition behind. Over the last several decades, we’ve lost this language, this way of organizing life. We’re not bad. But we are morally inarticulate. We’re not more selfish or venal than people in other times, but we’ve lost the understanding of how character is built. – David Brooks If I could shove one book into the hands of most everyone I know and demand they read it, it would be... Read more

Blogging Truth To Power

Last updated on: July 1, 2015 at 8:57 am By Michelle Van Loon

My husband and I once belonged to a congregation where leaders took their cues from theShepherding Movement. Emphasizing allegiance and church unity, they expected members to submit to their authority in all matters. One of their favorite mantras came from 1 Corinthians, using the King James Version for extra emphasis: Touch not God’s anointed. I was taught that to question a leader was to defy God himself. I was a naive sheep in this flock until I stumbled upon the elaborate... Read more

Regret Redux (Day 5)

Last updated on: June 21, 2015 at 7:35 pm By Michelle Van Loon

My book If Only: Letting Go Of Regret released a year ago. I’ve been humbled and gratified by the wonderful response from readers and reviewers. A number have told me the book helped them recognize, confront and release their own long-standing regrets. This week, in celebration of God’s faithfulness, I’m re-running some of my favorite posts from the last year on the topic of regret. What would a birthday party be without presents? Click here before midnight tonight Central time to send me the name and... Read more

Regret Redux (Day 4)

Last updated on: June 21, 2015 at 7:27 pm By Michelle Van Loon

My book If Only: Letting Go Of Regret released a year ago. I’ve been humbled and gratified by the wonderful response from readers and reviewers. A number have told me the book helped them recognize, confront and release their own long-standing regrets. This week, in celebration of God’s faithfulness, I’m re-running some of my favorite posts from the last year on the topic of regret. What would a birthday party be without presents? Click here before tomorrow – Friday, June 26th – at midnight Central... Read more

Regret Redux (Day 3)

Last updated on: June 21, 2015 at 7:18 pm By Michelle Van Loon

My book If Only: Letting Go Of Regret released a year ago. I’ve been humbled and gratified by the wonderful response from readers and reviewers. A number have told me the book helped them recognize, confront and release their own long-standing regrets. This week, in celebration of God’s faithfulness, I’m re-running some of my favorite posts from the last year on the topic of regret. What would a birthday party be without presents? Click here before Friday, June 26th at midnight Central time to send... Read more

Regret Redux (Day 2)

Last updated on: June 21, 2015 at 7:11 pm By Michelle Van Loon

My book If Only: Letting Go Of Regret released a year ago. I’ve been humbled and gratified by the wonderful response from readers and reviewers. A number have told me the book helped them recognize, confront and release their own long-standing regrets. This week, in celebration of God’s faithfulness, I’m re-running some of my favorite posts from the last year on the topic of regret. What would a birthday party be without presents? Click here before Friday, June 26th at midnight Central time to... Read more

Regret Redux (Day 1)

Last updated on: June 21, 2015 at 7:11 pm By Michelle Van Loon

Sex, Drugs, and Getting Old

Last updated on: June 11, 2015 at 9:45 am By Michelle Van Loon

The moment might strike while antiquing; their eyes meet over a mid-century modern divan, and the sparks fly. Both middle-aged partners are ready for some empty-nester afternoon delight… thanks to the pharmaceutical industry. That’s the picture we get from the ads for erectile dysfunction medications such as Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra that pepper late-night TV programs. A new batch of commercials for the drug Osphena target women who experience painful intercourse, or dyspareunia, due to the hormonal and physiological changes at... Read more