Robert and I are somewhere in southeast Texas right now, a middle-of-nowhere sort of place equidistant from Austin, San Antonio, and Houston. It’s really beautiful here. Not the majestic-fall-foliage beauty of New England that we’ve grown so accustomed to, but the back-road, brushy, barbed-wire beauty that is still very familiar to us. We walked a… Read More The Gift of Home
Sitting around a cafe table in our local Barnes & Noble, we were drinking coffee and talking about life and motherhood. The conversation was upbeat and there was laughter. Some of the laughter probably served only to keep the tears from falling, but I guess that’s not the worst defense mechanism. These were not only… Read More Missional Motherhood: Grace
Somehow, as a family of five (with a steady stream of houseguests), we’ve managed to live in a house with only one bathroom for over sixteen years. In 2018 we decided to change that. It wasn’t really a resolution for the new year, but it was a goal of ours to transform a dingy basement… Read More True New Year Renewal
85 year old country music legend (and fellow Texan) had this to say regarding the life of the mind: “Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” ~ Willie Nelson While Willie may rely on some herbal help with a happy mind, his ideas about the thought life are not… Read More Advent Joy: Thinking On His Flesh (And Not Mine)
A friend called on Wednesday. The first words out of her mouth described the death by overdose of another friend’s 23 year old son – a bright and capable college senior. Our already difficult conversation was interrupted by another call. It was my friend’s own daughter, whose choices against God are causing a great deal… Read More Advent Hope: Waiting For That Day
My friend, Jenny, posted this blog post of mine from 2011 on Facebook last week, and I hardly recognized myself when I re-read it. I’m finding it harder than ever to rest these days…to actually obey this commandment, which is one of the top TEN, or rather an important and overarching category of God’s whole… Read More Grace in the Law of the Sabbath: A Reminder
A few of you have either mentioned how much Cooper’s testimony meant to you, or expressed a desire to read it. Here it is, reprinted with Cooper’s permission. His baptism, along with two others that day, happened this past Sunday, and it was…well, I’m not sure I have a word for it. Cooper’s life, well-being,… Read More Friday Favorites: Cooper’s Story
I watched the kind man in the truck drive away to his early shift, I imagine. Not knowing quite what to do with myself at that point, I walked back outside of my dorm and onto the former boarding school campus where we were staying for our retreat. I knew Robert was walking somewhere on… Read More A Battle and a Rescue: Part 2
It was three weeks ago today, and it’s still so vivid in my mind. Most of my early morning runs are not very memorable – the familiar pavement, an hour of peace, lots of prayers, maybe a (one earbud) podcast – but the one I set off for on Monday, August 20 at 6:15am left… Read More A Battle and a Rescue: Part 1
The archivist in me wants to get it all down here and not let any more time pass, so I’m sitting in a coffee shop in Rhode Island trying to finish the story before we start our annual week of youth camp. I should be working on the Bible study I will be leading all… Read More Far More Abundantly – Part 2: Delight