And so here we are: this is Holy Week, the final days of Lent. It is a time jam-packed with emotional lows and highs, powerful theology and moving services such as the foot washing of Maundy Thursday, the darkness of … Continued
Next Sunday is Palm Sunday, the day that marks the joyous entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. As in every other occasion of his earthly time among us, our expectations are reversed, and we are surprised again by a world turned … Continued
If you attend a church that observes the liturgical calendar, this weekend you may have noticed the sanctuary decorated with flowers, clergy clad in pink vestments, and the organist may have been allowed her chance at that instrumental solo she … Continued
As children most of us wrote to Santa Claus to ask for particular Christmas gifts. I’m not sure all of us asked our parents for the Jem doll, a 1980s version of Barbie except that her neck was extra thick … Continued
We feel our smallness when we consider the universe, unutterably vast, dark, and scattered. Whole swaths of space are empty while elsewhere galaxies drift through the void for eons of time before colliding with each other. Some stars go nova … Continued
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
[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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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