I was berated by passengers in my van twice the other day. These two individuals got into the van on two completely separate occasions, and after I started the van each of one made a funny face and expressed disbelief at the music in my CD player. Of course, this in itself was not a foreign experience for me, as I am regularly mocked by my dear husband for my general taste in music. However, the other day there was a beautiful... Read more

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I made a new friend the other day. It happened at the Department of Motor Vehicles, in the line to get a number so we could stand in a line to wait for the line where we would stand to be assigned a DMV representative, whose line we would then go stand in. There was a woman standing in line next to me for the significant amount of time that I spent there that day, and by the end of... Read more

This post was written in 2007 and reposted on the blog today.  Blessed Good Friday, all. Holy Week is rather intense around our house, primarily because Mom is working a lot and we all spend quite a bit of time at church. Since this also happens to be Spring Break (no school) well, you might imagine the juggling going on. To try to keep things straight I’ve lately found myself reviewing the plans of each day over and over with... Read more

Okay, in general I completely disagree with that statement. But I got a chance to rethink my position just yesterday, and now I am just not sure at all. See, we recently found our iron. This is a very sad commentary on either the state of our unpacking priorities (as we moved almost 14 months ago) or on the value we as a family place on the task of ironing our clothes. Basically, I personally don’t do it.  Ever.  And... Read more

I go to yoga because it is a place where I can be anonymous . . . put aside all things churchy, pursue the art of emptying my mind. In other words, yoga has been in the past one place where I can at least pretend to be normal. Not the pastor, not the one who no one can swear in front of, not the one to whom you direct obscure questions about God or look toward for a meaningful... Read more

It was just the other day when I began to suspect that things had gotten out of control around here. I was merely minding my own business, trying, in fact, to be unusually kind to my colleagues by bringing a box of donuts to work to share. (I think that donuts generally make everybody in the whole world happy, but they are particularly glee-inducing on Fridays and I happen to know that they generally thrill our church administrator, especially if... Read more

From time to time I’ve been musing here about the phenomenon that seems to be more and more common these days: people are giving up on the church.  I sometimes think that people are surprised to know that I understand why so many do.  After all, who needs another institution, more bureaucracy, another set of requirements?  Everday life offers plenty of that, as anyone who has recently been to the DMV will know. But when I talk about the church... Read more

I really . . . honestly . . . did not give much thought to the opinions of my children (who actually were future children at the time) when I decided I was hearing God call me to be a pastor. It has only been recently, actually, that I’ve pondered-often-the effect my profession has or will have on my kids. I think about this particularly with reference to the individual, personal faiths of each of my kids. I mean, how... Read more

We’ve been waiting for the day when our niece and nephew (and cousins!) Jeremy and Marissa’s adoption would become finally, finally final, and today is the day!  We already know that a family can come to be in many different ways; thanks be to God for the grace-filled intersections of our lives.  We love you Anna, Mark, Marissa and Jeremy. Read more