Good Friday and Easter Sunday represent vastly different tones. Friday was bleak and somber death while Sunday was glorious and triumphant resurrection. But both days actually have something in common: the emptiness came first. The day that Jesus died, His followers would take His body …
I didn’t want the new year to come. Everyone seemed to be ready for a fresh start, or minimally to put a little more distance between us and that blight of our existence, the year 2020. In fact, when Betty White passed just shy of …
“Have you tried setting up a clear morning and bedtime routine for him?” A counselor kindly offered suggestions when I told her my child was not sleeping well at night and then refusing to go to school in the morning. I smiled thinly, and said …
Have we ever been down a longer road of uncertainty, where the bends are so continuous that we can’t quite see around them to the destination beyond? At a global level, covid has created a mask over our eyes as much as our mouths; despite …
There’s a lot of loneliness going around right now. The physical isolation makes us feel distant, and the distance breeds insecurity. We are not only dealing with the question of “Who is still in my pack right now?” but also “Am I still seen? Am …
I’m starting to think that most of the decisions I’ve agonized over this year could just as well have been decided by flipping a damn coin. It’s all very Robert Frost, road less traveled, psychological torment. We are months into homeschooling our kids, and there …
The other day I texted a positive comment to a good friend I haven’t seen in awhile. She immediately texted back, and her response made my brain trip over itself for a moment. You know those moments where someone says something simple that unlocks a …
JANUARY 2020 They say “hindsight is 2020” but I say we’ve got clear, 2020 vision starting right now. I’m planning my phrase of the year- I can’t decide between “unfettered possibilities” or “soaring joy”. Hm…maybe both! FEBRUARY 2020 We just had such a crowd of …
All the experts (those who have four+ children) say once you get to three kids, adding one more is no big deal. You shift to zone defense, buy snacks in bulk, and call it a day. I’m now certain all those friends collectively lied; you …
I’m noticing a disturbing trend as I allow God to dismantle and rearrange the Christianity I grew up with. I was talking with friends last night- the cumulative venting of parenting, faith and our current versions of isolation. My friend and I lamented that as …