Awkward Christian
I have a morning habit that grounds me and strengthens me every day. I look forward to it, and depend on it to give me some equilibrium. I manage to make it a priority, no matter what. What is it? It’s reading advice columns while I drink a cup of tea. You thought I was …
The Insanely Productive Habit of Being Gentle with YourselfRead More
Note: This post is for ALL people who care for others: kids, the elderly, students, whatever. And by no means am I saying that everyone should homeschool. You do you, no matter what. If you don’t know what unschooling is, go here. To see all posts in this series, go here. When they hear we …
Note: This post is for ALL people who care for others: kids, the elderly, students, whatever. And by no means am I saying that everyone should homeschool. You do you, no matter what. If you don’t know what unschooling is, go here. To see all posts in this series, go here. One of the recurring …
Learn to Trust Yourself and You’ll Learn to Hear GodRead More
Can I tell you something that embarrasses me? I’m becoming a Bible nerd. Yesterday, I recorded myself reading some Psalms aloud. I made MP3s of the files, and added them to a playlist on my iPhone. Today, I listened to them while I was cleaning the scrambled egg off of a cast-iron pan. Why? I’m …
Can I confess something? The idea of Lent makes me feel inadequate and lazy every year. I approach the time knowing I want it to feel holy. I wonder what I could do, practice, give up in order to feel like I’m really experiencing it. I want to approach the foot of the cross with something worthy …
I took Sarah Bessey’s little yellow firecracker of a book, Jesus Feminist, to worship a few months ago, hoping someone in my (not terribly conservative) church would ask me about it. Because Jesus Feminist is a book you want to have conversations about–a book that’s inviting, and warm, and a bold call for all of us …
“I have to know who I am.” One Woman’s Yes with Sarah BesseyRead More
By the very first hour of his invitation, Topo had already changed my life. And I didn’t even know his last name. It started on Palm Sunday. At the Presbyterian church I’d been attending for a few months in Buenos Aires, Topo stopped me outside the sanctuary. I had no idea who he was, but …
I got an email in my inbox from a reader yesterday. It was quite to the point: “What is unschooling?” she asked. Which made me realize that my last post might have left out a few pertinent details. So I’m including my answer to her, along with a few reading recommendations. “Unschooling” is a sort …
Note: This post is for ALL people who care for others: kids, the elderly, students, whatever. And by no means am I saying that everyone should homeschool. You do you, no matter what. This month I interviewed Addie Zierman, and she talked how the phrase “intentional parenting” makes her anxious. As we chatted, I …
When You Care for Others Gracefully, You Experience GraceRead More
I struggle to belong to other believers. I noticed this fiercely the other day. I felt God calling me to fast for a day, a spiritual discipline I usually flee from. I found myself wanting to keep that calling a secret. Then I realized my husband might notice me skipping meals. When I told him, …
Lately, the phrase “yes, and” has been going through my head. It comes from a class I took once on plotting a work of fiction. The main character has a question waiting to be answered. At a critical juncture, they get an answer— But it’s not a safe, predictable solution. Instead, it moves them further into their …
Yes Is a Heart-Stopping, Unpredictable, Wonderful AdventureRead More
I want the entire church to look down at its body and realize that large parts of it are missing. I want the church to cry out in anguish as it realizes its chronic, degenerative disease: the tender parts that were dishonored, cut off, ignored, mistreated. I want it to start caring—now! for the parts …
Addie Zierman’s lyrical memoir When We Were On Fire chronicled the her faith crisis before she had kids. Since she wrote her book, she often gets asked the question, “How then will you raise your kids?” She has trouble answering. So, of course, I made her talk about it for a half-hour. Here’s how Addie is …
A life of hidden beauty: One Woman’s Yes with Addie ZiermanRead More
I’ve never heard a sermon on baby steps. Jesus doesn’t mention the phrase; neither does Paul. I searched Eugene Peterson’s “The Message” for “baby steps”. No dice. In fact, if I’m realistic, the genre most associated with baby steps is more self-help than faith. Can I be honest? That has been giving me pause. I’d …
Off and on, I’ve been trying to draw from nature. Leaves. Fruit. Weird seed pods. Also, trees. Can I just say that drawing a tree is one of the most frustrating things ever? How do you draw the whole thing? The branches, the leaves, the canopy? When you look at a tree, you see a …
Something weird has been happening to me lately. I’ll give you a for-instance. It had been a long night, with various squabbles among my children, my husband, and me. I was upstairs, licking my wounds, and feeling unsettled. Also, it was the Sabbath. I have been turning off my phone on the Sabbath. My phone has a …
But to find your voice can be dangerous because you have to choose things and take risks and speak. Kathy Khang, Morethanservingtea.com Let’s get real for a second. All of this “follow your dreams” stuff looks really easy on paper. “Own your voice,” I chirp like Mary Poppins. “Write down your goals, and pursue them! The …
The church had a gigantic oak in its courtyard; I watched our children collecting acorns underneath with some of the kids from their Sunday school class. Little knots of people dotted the patio; people moved from one group to another, kissing cheeks, tousling kids’ hair, talking about the service, Sunday school, and the family asados …
A year and a half ago, a friend of mine sent me a link to a Simple Mom post. “I read this and thought you would like it. But maybe not!” she said. She knew me too well. I opened the post, and my heart sank. “I wrote a five-year plan,” the title said. “And …
I have been in a season of intense joy in my faith. And I really, really didn’t want to say why. Here’s why: The joy started when I stopped going to church. I’m over at SheLoves today, talking about moving away from church for a while–and moving deeper into God’s arms. Won’t you join me?
Calling myself a feminist keeps me honest. **** One of the biggest culture shocks I ever experienced (yes, it rivaled South America) was going to the Bible Belt for college at a small, secular university. When I visited the school before enrolling, I discovered that the broader campus culture was almost a reaction against the …
This was going to be a pretty post about God singing back to us. Zephaniah 3:17 says: The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. I love …
I still remember my very first Christmas movie. Specifically, I remember the merchandising tie-in: a McDonald’s Happy Meal in the shape of Santa’s workshop, with a rosy-cheeked old gentleman grinning on one side. But even if I never saw the Santa Claus, the Movie, I still know the plot backwards and forwards. How? Because …
I was lucky enough to stumble upon Osheta Moore’s blog right about the time she started blogging about finding her tribe. I especially loved this little gem on the diversity and unity in the body of Christ as discovered in an apple orchard. I wanted to talk to her about two big yeses in her …
