Dear Todd and Margo -
I admit, I don't know if these are actually your real names. They're likely not. But when we had the misfortune of meeting you tonight at dinner, you reminded my husband and I an awful lot of Todd and Margo Chester – the...
Like most families, mine has been touched by terminal illness. I've lost grandparents and an uncle to cancer; Another grandparent to the horrific Lou Gehrig's disease. During each of their illnesses, I depended on my faith and inevitably...
What the book's about: As the subtitle of The Irresistible Revolution suggests, this book is about "living as an ordinary radical."
Why I read this book: I rarely reread books and yet this is the 3rd time I've read...
What the book's about: A Good and Perfect Gift by Amy Julia Becker is a book about her daughter, Penny, and in particular, Penny's Down Syndrome diagnosis. It's a book about parenting and above all, it's a book about grace.
Why I...
Twice since returning from maternity leave, I've attended work conferences with my infant daughter, Hope. The first time, Hope was two months old; The second time, she was five months old. After the first go-round, I instagrammed the picture...
What the book's about: In Holy is the Day, Carolyn Weber explores what it means to experience God's grace in the ordinariness of daily life, as well as in the extraordinariness of life's defining moments.
Why I read this book: I heard...
Sweet Girl -
This is the week of your baptism, an event which is a big deal to your dad and I.
Baptism is a strange thing for us... Something we both have some baggage with.
Our parents had each of us baptized when we were babies. Me at your...
As a youth pastor, I'm privileged to walk with teens as they transition from high school into college. Typically, teens leave high school with huge dreams and aspirations, feeling as though they can conquer the world. All too often, four years...
I used to believe there was such a thing as a perfect church. Then I became a youth pastor and started working for the church. I quickly realized just how imperfect the church is.
Of course, this shouldn't be surprising. The church is made of...
In recent years, much criticism has been lobbied at short-term mission trips and in particular, at their value; At whether they do more harm than good. To that end, books like When Helping Hurts have helped those of us in the church figure out...