Two articles about caring for the earth in the most recent issue of Christianity Today...

First, an interview by Andy Crouch with Eugene Peterson and Peter Harris, "The Joyful Environmentalists." It's not yet available online (I'll try to remember to post a link when it is), ...

I stayed up late every night this week reading The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon. It's no great surprise that I loved it. The plot involves Lynnie, a young white woman with an intellectual disability, and Homan, an African-American deaf man. They fall in love ...

Anyone who reads this blog knows I'm someone who loves order and predictability and productivity and, well, balance. I've written before about my desire for balance and some of the holy disruptions that push me off-kilter. Having a newborn pushes me off kilter. Or perhaps I ...

I was only five years old when my cousin Ben was born. I do not remember exactly how I was told that he has Down Syndrome or what that really meant. I think my mom explained that "things are just going to be harder for Ben," or something to that effect. All I knew was that he ...

Yesterday two packages arrived. The first was a small box with five "Advanced Reading Copies" of my upcoming book, A Good and Perfect Gift: Faith, Expectations and a Little Girl Named Penny. The second were the "galleys" for that book, which is to say the final final draft. ...

Most nights before our kids go to bed, we have a family prayer time. It usually begins with William prostrate on the floor (who knows how he decided that the best way to pray is face to the ground and eyes closed). He usually says, "Thank you for our day. Thank you for our family." ...

For Mother's Day this year, my husband gave me one of those priceless gifts: the gift of time. The idea was that I would go away for two days and night to a retreat center. I'd have endless hours to think and pray and journal and get my spiritual house in order. Then the reality ...

Penny asks repetitive questions. So when, for instance, her dad was out of town last week, she persisted, "Where's Dad?"

"Pen, you know the answer to that."

"No I don't."

"Yes you do."

"Richmond."

"Right."

A few moments pass. "Mom, where's Dad?"

I finally figured out that she wasn't ...

Last week I was interviewed on the John and Kathy Show of Word FM, a Christian radio station in Pittsburgh. The interview came as a follow up to the award I received (along with my friend Ellen Painter Dollar) from the Evangelical Press Association in response to my article, ...

I was changing Marilee's diaper today and I remembered that I had meant to try cloth diapers this time around. I had the same lofty thoughts when William was born. I did some research and talked with my friend Michelle who uses cloth diapers and thought about all the economic ...

Is it possible to have sex without having a relationship?

Dannah Gresh, writing for CNN's belief blog, says no. I recommend reading her entire essay, "There's Nothing Brief About a Hookup." To quote her at length:

[Oxytocin] is released during sexual expression. A tiny dose is ...

We were sitting around the dinner table and Peter reached over and rubbed Penny's arm.

"Why you do that, Dad?" she asked.

"It's a way of saying I love you," he said.

She nodded. A moment later, she reached over to Marilee and rubbed Marilee's arm. "I love you, Marilee."

The same ...

When I was little, my big sister Katey carried, snuggled, cooed at, tickled, and pushed me on the swing. She bickered with me over food, toys, attention, and pets. As a toddler, I looked up to Katey, fifteen years my senior. I wanted to wear her retainer and her big purple dress ...

Theoretically, I'm a big believer in "observing the Sabbath." I've read books about it, written articles about it ("No Shopping on Sundays") and tried to implement various practices such as not using our household appliances on Sundays. I believe the Sabbath is a gift and a ...