Fighting for Joy through Gratitude
Throughout my 27-year marriage, my husband has encouraged me to get away at least once a year. I typically drive to a friend’s cottage, heavy laden with more books than any human could possibly get through in three days and spend my time reading, walking along the ... I teach theology and Bible at Nyack College, a Christian school. I was a pretty run-of-the-mill vanilla prof until I found a passion for Christian history and liturgy. I soon realized a call to bring unity among the three ... From a blog reader: “It would be great if you could write about how you started writing so honestly about difficult issues that lie at the heart and soul of so many people. Was it difficult? Did you ever face the fear of being judged negatively by people? If so, how did you overcome it and write ... We’ve all heard news stories about “free-range children,” those unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on who you ask) children who are allowed to BE OUTSIDE WITHOUT THEIR PARENTS! One news story involved 6- and 10-year-old siblings. Their parents dropped them at a nearby park with instructions ... The tables were all set with festive tablecloths and centerpieces, and light twinkled from votive candles as we awaited the arrival of our guests. Christmas was in the air. As ... We’ve been invited to a church member’s home for a meal just three times in three years. As an accidental experiment in the Colorado city where we moved three years ago, we visited 17 churches, landing at 2 for about a year, 3 for a month each, and visited the others ... As faculty for a local university’s nursing program, I guide student nurses into the role of professional nurse. One of my greatest challenges is that today’s students are afraid to be seen as anything less than perfect—by their patients, their professors, ... I edged to the front of my folding chair, bobbing and weaving my head to find a view through the heads in front of me. “Do you have a child there?” an older woman sitting next to me asked with a slight accent as she ... There are many different varieties of trees on our 120-acre homestead, along with crops and brush, a bit of pasture and a spring-fed creek that flows year round from a pond that never freezes over. And don’t get me talking about the diversity of wildlife that thrives ... I started listening to NPR a number of years ago because I felt a need to hear a different voice, to listen well, and to give consideration to viewpoints that I did not share. Since then, as the tone of challenging conversations around race and politics have become ... My father and I shared our minds and
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Snowboarding on Christmas sounds fabulous until realizing you’re alone—married and alone—family minutes away and alone. Divorce, my divorce, isn’t something I often write about or discuss, but this Christmas season I have encountered many hurting people and am starkly reminded of the raw pain ... What’s in a name? A name helps us be known by others, to connect. When I named my two girls, I chose names that spoke value and caught a glimpse into their character and who they might become. My parents set the stage ... Doll Houses. Ghetto houses. Foster homes. Group homes. Children’s homes. So many houses. So few homes. I stand in front of a dilapidated building in an urban neighborhood. Its porch is sagging to the right, the railing ...
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Lessons from an Intercultural Marriage
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How to Write the Hard Stuff
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Trust God and Land Your Helicopter
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What Is True Biblical Hospitality?
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You’d Do the Same for Me
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Hospitality: Entertaining or Healing?
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Hospitality Flipped Upside Down
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All Are Welcome
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Diversity and the Church: A Culture with No Excuse
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A Silhouette of Marriage
Musings one late crisp eve.
He beckoned my eyes to descry in the distance
A silhouette of symmetry.
Forgiveness at Christmas
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He Calls Me Mine
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Houses and Homes
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