February 2012

Worth Reading

Number one on my list this week, because it combines individuals with disabilities, families, adoption, hope, and some amazing dogs: "Wonder Dog" from the New York Times.

Number two, because it is a beautiful meditation on aging and being young, and because my beloved 91-year ...

Spirituality for Busy Moms Tip #5: Pray as you are

Prayer paralyzes me. It's just too much. Too many people in need. Too many world events to consider. Too many personal needs and wants. Too many "oughts" and "shoulds" inside my head. And too many other things, practical things, to get done.

Which is exactly why I need to pray, ...

Penny's Upcoming Surgery, or, Believe it or not, I'm Grateful

Penny will have surgery on her eyes and ears next week, on February 17th. She's had a few minor surgeries before–tubes in her ears twice, a heart procedure when she was 14 months old, stints placed in her tear ducts to help them open up. But this will be the first time that ...

Do You Want a Perfect Family?

As those of you who have read A Good and Perfect Gift know (and, I suspect, as those of you who read this blog regularly also know), I struggle with perfectionism. Having Penny, our six year old daughter with Down syndrome, in our lives, has offered us an opportunity to rethink ...

The Problem with Religion

It's easy to find problems with religion. As I write in "Why I Am Both Spiritual and Religious,"

Religious texts have been used to justify everything from slavery to homophobia to abusive relationships. Religious people in positions of power have abused that power and harmed ...
The Truth About You...

My friend Sara Hagerty, who writes about her family of four children (three girls and a boy adopted from Ethiopia and Uganda) on the blog Every Bitter Thing is Sweet, has written two posts about their daughter Hope. Yes, these are posts about adoption, but they say as much about ...

Spirituality For Busy Moms Tip #4: Get Some Help

That baby on the cover of "Why I'm Both Spiritual and Religious" is, yes, our son. William cried a lot as a baby, and he cried a lot in the night. Sometimes he screamed so hard I wondered if he might hyperventilate. And I remember one night, when I was traveling alone with him, ...

Why Did I Write A Good and Perfect Gift?

This interview appeared in a newsletter for Tiny Tots Therapy:

As an author & mother, what gave you the strength to share your personal story?

When Penny was diagnosed with Down syndrome a few hours after birth, I didn't know how to respond. Over the course of the next year, ...

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