New Years is wrought with great plans. Plans to eat different. Act different. Save different. Be different. We want to believe that at the precipice of a new year we can become new versions of ourselves. We hope to change! Really! We do. But, then a few weeks in, we’re back. In the same routines. Same…
The Power of Unconditional Love
Sometimes what happens to you is not fair. It’s not fair that you got that diagnosis or that your mom isn’t here to show you the ropes or the insurance company refuses to cover that particular medicine you really need or you’re stuck between the impossible decision about whether or not to send your kid…
A Rhythm for an Uncertain Week
So it’s Saturday. WHO KNEW?! And Toban is using the power washer (classic mennonite stress-cleaning) and Zach is in a tree holding a bucket that, when last I checked, had a snake and a skink in it. Who he claims “are friends and knew each other already.” Great, great. Not entirely clear what garden snakes…
No Reason Whatsoever
Fear is a terrible friend. Keeps us up at night. Seems to call at weird times. Doesn’t care if we are too busy or too sad. Prevents us from making any good decisions during the day. CONSTANTLY TALKS OVER US. What if? Have you heard? What about? Did you read this article? When we are…
Gondola Prayers
When I was 5-years-old our family went on one of those gondolas up a mountain in British Columbia, Canada, and just as our cable car suspended over the deepest part of the valley below, it stopped moving. It swayed at first, and then all went still. Nobody spoke. Except for a little voice, (and yes…
God is on the Losing Team
When I was five, I played the cello for the first time in a music festival. Music festival is a strong word for the experience I had. Yes, there were lots of players and pieces and judges and carrying music stands on and off stages. But as far as I was concerned, there were only…
When You’re Not Feeling Very #Blessed
We don’t live in a culture of blessing. We live in a culture of #blessed. #Blessed is attached to anything from a birth announcement to a new boyfriend, a rental car upgrade to barely there bikini shots. But all it ends up being is a popularity contest where even the best of us can fall…
The Burden of Love
Do you sometimes find yourself looking at something made of letters and thinking, Hey! I’m not illiterate. I love using my eyes! Well do I have a treat for you. Every month we read a book together as a community and I wanted to introduce you to this month’s pick which is a classic. The…
Falling Far From The Tree
“The apple never falls far from the tree.” So the saying goes as a way of explaining why children most often resemble their parents. It is usually people’s response when they learn I am a historian just as my father is a historian or that my son’s tongue spends 90% of its time outside of…
When Self-Help Hurts
Most self-help books are quite confident about offering us advice on how to live our best life now by losing weight, gaining confidence, dealing with family issues, or hustling our businesses. Their remedies are “quick,” “never fail,” “bite-sized,” and “sassy. “Be a badass”, says one, “make some d*mn money already.” “Wake up to the miracle…
Chronic Not Curable
Of all my favorite heresies, mental self-determination probably tops the list. I am what I choose to be. Most of the primary spiritual experiences of my life had been framed in that language: I had made a saving decision. I had answered the door when Jesus knocked. I had remained steadfastly annoyed by my Reformed…
June Book Club: Turtles All The Way Down
Well hello my dears, As you may have heard, I’M LAUNCHING A BOOK CLUB (you can read more about that here) where I will feature a mix of fiction, non-fiction, and spiritual titles over the next several months. And I’m so excited to kick it off with John Green’s gorgeous young adult novel, Turtles All The…
