Penny started talking about kindergarten over a year ago. She’s like her mom. She likes school. But lately the reality has set in. She seems to know that going to kindergarten marks a rite of passage. She’ll move from a 3 hour school day to almost 7 hours. There will be more kids in the classroom. Less playtime. Higher expectations. A few weeks back, I said, “Pen, today’s your last day of pre-school. Guess where you’re going next?” “Kindergarten,” she... Read more
Yesterday morning, I wrote a response to an NPR report about evangelicals disparate beliefs about whether or not Adam was an historical figure. Many of you weighed in with comments and questions, both here and on Facebook, and I’d like to address a few of them now. First, I’ve written before about my view of Scripture (“What is the Bible?”). I believe the Bible is the Word of God and that it is God’s authoritative word for Christians. And therefore... Read more
So here’s the question: should a man who was born without the lower half of his legs be allowed to compete in the World Track and Field Championships? According to Juliet Macur of the New York Times (“As Debate Goes On, Amputee Will Break Barrier“) some people think Oscar Pistorius has an advantage because his prosthetic legs are lighter than natural legs: In 2008, the International Association of Athletics Federations, track and field’s governing body, thought so. It ruled that... Read more
I read the Bible literally. Which is why I don’t believe in an historical Adam and Eve. NPR ran a long piece yesterday morning about the controversy among evangelicals regarding the historicity of Genesis 2. I commend Barbara Bradley Hagerty for even-handed coverage of the story, and yet I listened with alarm to the arguments proposed by evangelicals on both sides of the debate. On one side are people who believe that there can’t be an historical Adam because the... Read more
Yes, I have the song lyrics in mind, and yes, that’s William on the left with the microphone his great-grandmother gave him for his birthday. We’ve tried to teach William to use his performance skills to sing “You can’t always get what you wa-ant,” but he’s had a hard time appreciating the message. Instead of singing along, he tends to stomp his feet and punch the air and begin wailing. Sometimes he throws things. Other times he pushes me. It’s... Read more
Because I was away, I missed the opportunity to express my gratitude for John Stott’s ministry after his death on July 27th. But I wanted to take a moment to draw attention to two of the many wonderful tributes written about his long and full career as a worldwide evangelical leader. First, Christianity Today’s obituary, which offers an overview of Stott’s life and ministry. But I’d also like to point out Nicholas Kristof’s tribute to John Stott: Evangelicals Without Blowhards,... Read more
As I mentioned last week, the past ten days were a staycation, which is to say we stayed home, for the most part, and didn’t work, for the most part. (And for any of you who didn’t check in last week, I highly recommend scrolling through last week’s posts–four excellent reflections on different aspects of adoption by four beautiful writers and friends. It’s wonderful to go away for a week and think that the quality of this blog went up!)... Read more
Sara Hagerty is a friend through marriage–her husband and mine were housemates for two years in college. But in recent years the bond has grown stronger as both of us have found ourselves with families that are less conventional than our peers. Sara and Nate adopted Eden and Caleb three years ago from Ethiopia. They are returning tomorrow from another trip to Africa–this time Uganda–and they are returning as a family of six, with Lily and Hope now under their... Read more
Margot Starbuck, author of The Girl in the Orange Dress: Searching for a Father Who Does Not Fail, comes at adoption from two angles. First, as her book narrates, she was adopted as an infant. Second, she has two biological children and an adopted son. In Ellen Painter Dollar’s post on Tuesday, she mentioned, “every adoption involves loss.” Today Margot shares some of the hard stuff surrounding adoption. I relate to her reticence to do so. As the parent of... Read more
Margot Starbuck, author of The Girl in the Orange Dress: Searching for a Father Who Does Not Fail, comes at adoption from two angles. First, as her book narrates, she was adopted as an infant. Second, she has two biological children and an adopted son. In Ellen Painter Dollar’s post on Tuesday, she mentioned, “every adoption involves loss.” Today Margot shares some of the hard stuff surrounding adoption. I relate to her reticence to do so. As the parent of... Read more
Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability
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