I wrote yesterday about the excitement of prayer. And much as I believe that prayer is everything I said–an ongoing opportunity to know God, a chance to see God’s work in the world, and a source of gratitude–I still have a hard time praying. Why? First, there’s the distraction endemic to everyday life. The phone calls I need to make. The email I forgot to write. The question of when I might be able to exercise or what we’ll eat... Read more
I recently read and reviewed Jenell Paris’ book, The End of Sexual Identity: Why Sex is Too Important to Define Who We Are for her.meneutics, the Christianity Today women’s blog. I’ve quoted from and linked to the review below, and I hope you’ll take the time to read it and chime in with some comments, either here or at her.meneutics. But I will also add here that a friend of mine and I were recently talking about this book and... Read more
I write about prayer a lot (I’ve included a list of past posts at the end of this one if you want to read more). Enough, in fact, that you might get the erroneous impression that I pray a lot. But in reality my “prayer life” is sporadic, like a car in traffic, sometimes lurching forward, often sitting in place. I think the reason I write about it so much is that I want to “pray in the Spirit on... Read more
I used to think that communication was all about words. Spoken words. Written words. Whispered words. Shouted words. Then I had children. And I began to realize that communication may include words, but more often it entails hugs and tears and sometimes screeches and yawns and holding hands. As a part of the current Patheos Book Club, featuring the book Mother Teresa, CEO, I was asked to comment upon one of the leadership principles the book discusses, “communicate in a... Read more
My friend Ellen Painter Dollar has a guest post on her blog, Choices that Matter: “Beating on the Chest of God: Christian Responses to Infertility and Suffering.” It’s a poignant and helpful reflection upon what not to say to someone who is dealing with the pain of infertility in particular, and even more so an honest look at how Christians can suffer with integrity and honesty before God. I’d like to quote the whole essay in full, but for now... Read more
A few months ago, Peter discovered an ancient songbook (circa 1960) filled with folk tunes and campfire songs. William was fascinated. We started singing some classics–“Skip to My Lou” and “On Top of Spaghetti” and “The Bear Went Over the Mountain.” Soon enough, William was asking for “a song from that book” as a part of his bedtime routine. For a while, the song of choice was “America the Beautiful.” Then a Christmas song called “The Friendly Beasts.” Now he’s... Read more
I know the book is finished when the final deadline rolls around. Which, in this case, is TODAY! My first deadline for A Good and Perfect Gift was last December. I spent the week after Christmas reading the entire manuscript out loud, listening for words that were repeated too often, sentences whose rhythm was off, and any minor changes that needed to occur. A few weeks later, my editor wrote to say that no “substantial” edits were needed (which was... Read more
Issues surrounding sexuality make headlines all the time. Same-sex marriage in New York State… Questions about children’s sexual identities discussed on Motherlode… And, all too often, Christians condemning these conversations. My fellow her.meneutics blogger Karen Swallow Prior has written an article for Relevant Magazine: “Who Would Jesus Bully?” in which she argues that the “It Gets Better” project to support gay teens through the difficult high school years should be supported rather than derided by Christians. In her words, …I... Read more
A friend and reader recently wrote: “Marriage question– Is it offensive and/or helpful in the union to allow your partner alone time, which could be anything from prayer to seeing friends to going out to eat without you?” Peter and I have a regular date night, during which we almost always go out to dinner just the two of us. I look forward to it all week long, and in my type-A-planner way, there are even weeks where I keep... Read more
From Mark Galli’s new book, God Wins, on the nature of asking questions of God (He begins with the contrast between Mary and Zechariah in Luke): Mary’s question is about God. Zechariah’s question is about himself. Mary’s question assumes God will do something good and great, and seeks to know how it will unfold. Zechariah is not at all sure that God is good and great, and seeks proof. Mary wants to learn more about the goodness of God. Zechariah... Read more
Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability
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