Long time readers of this blog may remember that I used to run a weekly guest post called "Perfectly Human." The purpose of the posts was to offer first-hand experience of the common humanity of people with disabilities. I ran out of obvious contacts for a while, but ...

I meant to share the link to this great post by my friend Karen Swallow Prior a while back when she wrote it. Thankfully, the truths it contains are timeless. Although they boil down to "get enough sleep, it's good for your soul," the post is very worth reading in full: Want ...

Penny had surgery a few weeks back. It all went well. But in the recovery room, as Penny slept, with her hair matted to her head, an IV dripping fluid into her arm, her nurse started telling us about how the doctors often give different instructions to parents than they do to ...

As those of you with young children already know, last week was Dr. Seuss' birthday. Penny's teachers celebrated by inviting all the parents in her class to sign up to read. I was slated for Thursday and Horton Hatches an Egg.

William soon picked up on this development, so he ...

Lisa Belkin posted a really interesting piece about how having money relates to being a good parent: "Money is the Root of all Parenting." It's a great summary of a recent study that explains how difficult it is to try to raise kids in poverty.

In the same news cycle, I learned ...

I'm working on an essay about recent developments in the national conversation about prenatal testing. I'm not quite done yet, but I thought you all would appreciate reading the conclusion of Joe Klein's essay in Time Magazine this week. Joe Klein is a political moderate who ...

It might seem odd, but I don't read very many blogs. I read magazines in the good old-fashioned way, and I read articles from the New York Times on my phone, but blogs kind of overwhelm me. There are too many out there, and I just can't keep up. So I generally stick to Time, ...

I should begin by explaining that our kids have initiated a new bedtime ritual. It started at Christmastime. We differentiated between Christmas songs like "Santa Claus is coming to town" and Christmas hymns, which my kids named "Christmas church songs." And William began to ...

I think my interview last week with Drew Marshall as his weekly "God blogger" might have been my favorite interview ever. Not only did he acknowledge the fact that my name is just plain difficult for interviewers–they either stumble to call me Amy Julia or they shorten it to ...

I'm supposed to be in New York City today, attending the Q sessions with Eugene Peterson, author of a number of thoughtful and spiritually transformative books, including The Message and my favorite among many, Leap Over a Wall: Earthy Spirituality for Everyday Christians. Unfortunately, ...

Jeremy Lin has overturned assumptions about the ability of Asian Americans to play basketball. So has David Andrews, a teenager with Down syndrome who contributed (with a 40% 3-point throw percentage) to his team's district championship this year. To see him in action, click ...

As a part of the Patheos Book Club, I was asked to reflect upon Jo Saxton's new book, More Than Enchanting. This book, about women recognizing their calling and ability to lead and influence others within the church, caused me to think about my own role as a female leader. Here's ...

I had a lovely conversation with Susie Larson for Moody Radio last Friday. Somehow in six minutes she got me to talk about being a perfectionist in college, the freedom Penny has offered to me as a mother, where is God in the midst of suffering, and what it means to receive ...

When Bonnie Rochman was writing her article for TIME, she asked me (per her editor's request) to describe "what Penny can and can't do." Here's what I wrote in response:

I've been thinking all morning about how to answer your question. It's harder than you might expect because ...

When 5:00 rolls around, I want a glass of wine. Especially if it's winter and I'm home alone with our children and it's dark outside. I started to notice this desire a few months ago. I had this niggling warning in the back of my brain about it, but I pushed it away every night. ...