July 2011

Down Syndrome: What Story Will you Tell?

I had this moment when we were on vacation in Virginia Beach. I was looking at Penny, and I wondered what other people thought when they saw her from a distance. I assume they saw a little girl playing in the sand with her family. And I assume if they got closer, they would ...

Our Annual Co-Parenting Experiment

I have a new post on Motherlode ("Learning to Walk in Another's Flip-Flops"), the parenting blog of the New York Times. It was prompted by reading a recent article in TIME ("Chore Wars"), in which Ruth Davis Konigsburg reported that men and women work more or less equal hours ...

Why We All Need Our Dads

Peter left yesterday morning for some meetings in New York City. He returns this afternoon. I didn't think too much of it ahead of time. My mom was around yesterday morning. We had plenty of activities–camp, swimming lessons, dinner with friends. And it was only a day and a ...

Books that Bridge the Religion Gulf

One of my hopes as a writer is that I would be in conversation with people who don't see the world the way I do. I'd like to offer my perspective as a Christian in a way that encourages dialogue and invites relationship with people of other faiths, people who don't know what ...

Where are your Cities of Refuge?

The only time I go running with my husband Peter is when he is pushing at least two children in a jogging stroller. I remember one time, many years ago, when we were running side by side and I told him I needed to rest. "You can do it," he said. "I know you can." I could hear ...

Abortion and Eugenics

One of these days, I'll write more on this topic, but for now, I'd like to offer the words of Andi Sligh, of the blog Bringing the Sunshine:

Last week, the government released statistics in the United Kingdom on the number of abortions performed during 2010.  Of the 2,290 abortions ...
Rachel Simon Talks about Siblings with Disabilities

When I interviewed Rachel Simon, author of The Story of Beautiful Girl a few weeks back, I asked her some of your questions. I've finally transcribed the interview and wanted to share with you her thoughts.

What are some ways growing up with a sister with an intellectual disability ...

Divorce, Addiction, and Prostitution--Some Articles Worth Reading

There are real reasons for people to get divorced, but the destruction of a marriage should never be celebrated. In "The Divorce Delusion," an article from the New York Times a few weeks back, the writer reflects on popular culture's recent embrace of divorce and comments upon ...

Every Story Needs a Plot... Thoughts on A Good and Perfect Gift

Over the weekend, a friend asked, "What was the hardest part of writing A Good and Perfect Gift?"

When I sat down to write, I had over 200 typed pages of journal entries from the time immediately following Penny's birth. I recorded the raw emotions, the theological questions, ...

David Brooks: The Debt Ceiling Debate Is Really a Denial of DeathI don't want bureaucrats in Washington deciding what kind of treatments people can get but I do want people to know the freedom, hope, and peace available to Christians in the face of death.

David Brooks has yet another insightful piece in the New York Times. He argues that to the extent that ever-rising health care costs are a major reason for the U.S. federal deficit, the stalled debate in Washington about the debt ceiling is actually the result of cultural assumptions ...

How Do We Pray?

To conclude some of the thoughts I've shared about prayer this week, I want to offer the suggestion of using prayer cards. For a fuller explanation, go to Paul Miller's A Praying Life, but the basic idea is to think of people or recurring ideas in your life that you'd like to ...

He Needs a Fence, and He Listens to Jesus: Who is this Kid?

Our children are always surprising me. There's William making "art" in the front yard out of a plastic lawnmower, red cones, and a host of tennis balls. Or Penny's determination in the swimming pool. Marilee's recent willingness to inhale large amounts of prunes.

So the other ...

Pray Like a Child...

Prayer is exciting. Prayer is tough (at least for me). But as I mentioned in yesterday's post, honesty with God matter more than getting it right when we pray. We can bring our doubts, fears, shame, guilt, anger, sorrow, joy–we can bring our real selves–to God in prayer.

Penny ...

I'm Tired of Pop Culture Mocking Down Syndrome...

Sometimes I forget that most of the world isn't attuned to issues related to Down syndrome and intellectual disability. I also get tired when I read one more headline about people in positions of power mocking people who have historically been scorned and abused. So when I read ...

Why Is Prayer So Hard?

I wrote yesterday about the excitement of prayer. And much as I believe that prayer is everything I said–an ongoing opportunity to know God, a chance to see God's work in the world, and a source of gratitude–I still have a hard time praying. Why?

First, there's the distraction ...

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