How Lent Prepares Us for What is Lost
When I was a little girl, my parents would bribe me with a dollar for every poem I memorized. It is disconcerting to see a child recite some of the sexier parts of Romeo and Juliet, but, what can I … Continued
Pancakes, Fat Tuesday, and Cheering for the Losing Team
[Listen to a recording of today’s article by clicking play below.] It’s a day with a lot of names—Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Fastnacht—but around our house it was always Pancake Day. Though the Bowler girls were not brought … Continued
Why Christmas is Not Lent
My upbringing wasn’t exactly traditional, especially come December. My Dad is (if I may say so) the expert on Christmas. He received his Ph.D. in History from King’s College, London, and is the author of Christmas in the Crosshairs, Santa Claus: A … Continued
The Superheroes of Love
Christmas is all about togetherness and no one understands that more than the Hallmark Channel. As everyone who is also tracking the Countdown to Christmas with the Hallmark Christmas app knows (please don’t tell anyone), nothing complicated is ever supposed … Continued
Goodbye Light. Hello Darkness.
Zach helped me light the first candle of Advent on Sunday. The Advent Wreath is a tradition created by a German pastor in the 19th century as a way to teach kids about the coming of Christ. Candles are lit on … Continued
When There’s No Good Card for That
Hello my dears, As it turns out, sharing your innermost feelings with millions of strangers in the form of a fancy book was an even more inside-out-feeling than I imagined. Who knew? When we last spoke, I had just wrapped … Continued
What to Read When You Can’t Talk About God
It’s happened a million and one times. I’m getting my nails done, picking up take-out, or making small talk in the line at the post office. Someone will ask where I work, and I’ll get to tell them about all … Continued
Saying Things Worth Keeping
I cleaned out my work office yesterday. I rearranged the futon, moved my desk to face the window, hung new artwork, and covered the ugliest cabinets with stick-on wallpaper. I’m one floral arrangement away from a Martha Stewart sponsorship. The … Continued
On Easter and Suffering
A poor carpenter from Nazareth was put to death this week, died, was buried, and rose from the dead. Even though Christians do a lot of thinking and talking about tombs on Easter weekend, the story does not end there. … Continued
Patients Don’t Bite
Imagine this: you’re lying back in a dentist chair. Your dentist is descending on you with a flashy steel scalpel, about to cut out one of your front teeth. As the morphine begins to blink your eyes closed, your … Continued
Your Pain is Also Mine
I recently had a dream that I almost drowned in the ocean shallows. I was floating when a massive whirlpool formed beneath me. I tried to get my bearings but I couldn’t swim against the current, pulling me down, down, … Continued
There’s No Dictionary for This
What’s the first thing to come to mind when you hear the words, “Kiss me”? Or how about, “popcorn”? Or what about “colorectal”? EXACTLY. Words have weight. Words are not neutral; they come with more baggage than an American family … Continued
Laughing in the Face of Cancer
Lent has me thinking about the ubiquity of suffering. Sickness is part of the universal human experience, but we try so hard to disengage from it. You would think we all understand that we are all going to die (unless … Continued
Somewhere Between Living and Dying
I saw the wine bottles first. I was sitting outside on the patio, hoping the fresh air would lighten that bottomless grief. My parents were making soup and passing out hospital surgical masks or worrying about next appointments. The bottles … Continued
The Cost of Brave Love
Toban says the day he knew I really loved him was the day I was diagnosed with stage IV cancer. I had just been told my life was over, and he said he felt something Hallmark should probably trademark: “You … Continued
How to Be a Better Ash Wednesday Lover
This week marks the beginning of Lent, the forty days in the Christian liturgical calendar leading to the commemoration of Jesus’ crucifixion (Good Friday) and resurrection (Easter). For many Christians, it’s a time to temporarily abandon vices, try new spiritual … Continued
Everything Is Happening!!
Today is one of those days when I don’t know whether to laugh maniacally or mouth breathe into a pillow. Someone pause the life train because EVERYTHING IS HAPPENING TODAY!!!! The project that started as a collection of moderately-comical emails … Continued
Sonic Soup of Vulnerability
This book is a way to faithfully stare down the darkness together.
Top 5 Worst Religious Clichés for People in Pain
There is nothing like a handwritten note to tell someone you care about them. But sometimes, a well-intentioned gesture can have the exact opposite effect.
Join the Kate Launch Team!
I never got really good at asking for help, even in the days when I really, really needed it. But in my hardest days, it didn’t matter that I didn’t know how to ask. My people showed up.