On Ash Wednesday, we knew that March would bring with it vacation. Nearly two weeks of vacation, in fact. A week in Virginia with old friends, and then a long weekend in California. And on Ash Wednesday, we made the decision to abstain from alcohol as a Lenten discipline, including those vacation days in March. But then, in Virginia, our friends (a pastor and his wife) suggested that we see our time together as an extended Sabbath celebration. Sounded good... Read more

A while ago, I read a scholarly book called Disability in the Hebrew Bible, by Saul Olyan. I have a review of the book right now with Books and Culture. It begins… If I had a nickel for every time Saul Olyan uses the word “stigmatize” and its cognates in Disability in the Hebrew Bible, I would have been rich by the end of this slim volume. Well, maybe not rich, but I would have had a lot of nickels.... Read more

I’ve been reading a lot of Flannery O’Connor recently, and I came across her thoughts (as a devout Roman Catholic) on birth control. In a letter to a friend, she writes: “The Church’s stand on birth control is the most absolutely spiritual of all her stands and with all of us being materialists at heart, there is little wonder that it causes unease. I wish various fathers would quit trying to defend it by saying that the world can support... Read more

I have a new piece at her.meneutics, the Christianity Today blog. Regular readers of this blog will recognize some of the ideas, although it does contain new material as well. It begins: The word retarded has made the news lately. The Special Olympics designated March 3rd as a day of awareness about the hurtful and inappropriate ways that word is used. Before that, Sarah Palin excoriated Rahm Emanuel, President Obama’s Chief of Staff, after he used the word to describe... Read more

I met a Wycliffe Bible translator a few years ago. He described the cultural differences he encountered upon living on an island in the Philippines. In a community meeting, people argued vociferously and passionately against one another. The room seemed split almost down the middle on opposing sides. At the end of the debate, they were called upon to vote. And they voted unanimously in favor of the majority. Each individual, having voiced his or her opinion, laid down that... Read more

We’re moving next year. Just for the year while Peter goes back to school. But it still means packing our things and finding new doctors and new friends and, most worrisome to me, a new school for Penny. So I went online and looked at the website for the school system where we’ll be living. Here’s what I found: The Integrated Preschool Program is an inclusive program providing services to children who are three to six years old and are... Read more

A few years back, I came across a passage in which God instructs the Israelites to set apart six cities as “cities of refuge,” places where people may flee if they unintentionally kill another person. (See Deuteronomy 19 for a fuller explanation.) And it struck me then that I also need cities of refuge, places where I can flee when I have unintentionally gotten off track, made mistakes, hurt others. I also need to flee towards God’s mercy and grace.... Read more

First, I have a new post on 843 Acres discussing euthanasia: “Euthanasia and the Right to be a Burden.”  Second, two years ago, I went out to Calvin College’s Festival of Faith and Writing, and I’m headed back in April. I’ll be leading a “circle” on Writing as Ministry, and I want to invite any and all readers of this blog to join me at the Festival and for this discussion. If you can’t make it to Grand Rapids, of... Read more

As readers of this blog know, my husband and I have given up alcohol for Lent. In my initial post on the topic (“Considering Lent: Disruptive Grace“), I wrote about my hope that deliberately changing a habit would open my eyes to see more of God’s work in the world. I hoped it would make me more attentive to the work of the Spirit in our midst. But I have to admit that most days, I’m just aware of what... Read more

Today, I am headed to Edenton, North Carolina, for a visit and a bookreading. It’s my hometown, although I haven’t lived there in over two decades. Still, its streets and buildings and stories and, most of all, people, shaped me, and I am grateful for the gifts of that place. So in honor of Edenton, I’m publishing the only poem I’ve ever written that I think holds its own, a memory of a day when I was eight or nine:... Read more