Not having lived in any sort of actual monarchy, the thought of being subject to the reign of a king is unfamiliar to me, and I think most of us alive at this time. As I mentioned in Part One: A Better Parent, however I perceive God now, he continually shows me with each new… Continue reading God is Better Than You Think, Part Two: A Better Throne
Category: grief
The Stuck Spots of Spiritual Trauma: Stuck Spot #3-Sharing the Gospel
Thank you to those of you who've taken the time to respond to the previous two topics in this series. Your experiences with hearing God's voice and with the church have beautifully illustrated for me the uniqueness of each individual's journey with God. Your insights also show how universal many aspects of faith can be.… Continue reading The Stuck Spots of Spiritual Trauma: Stuck Spot #3-Sharing the Gospel
The Stuck Spots of Spiritual Trauma: Stuck Spot #2-CHURCH!
If you ever have or still do attend a church, why do you do it? Is it a practice that brings you closer to God? A ritual you feel obligated to do based on some understanding of Scripture? A chance to connect with fellow believers and socialize with friends? Now, here’s an even more telling… Continue reading The Stuck Spots of Spiritual Trauma: Stuck Spot #2-CHURCH!
The Stuck Spots of Spiritual Trauma: Stuck Spot#1-Hearing God’s Voice
In my previous post, an introduction to this series, The Stuck Spots of Spiritual Trauma, I invited readers to share their own experiences of loss and trauma to their faith and/or relationship with God. I deeply appreciate the courage of fellow travelers who reached out to me in response to my previous blog article. I’d… Continue reading The Stuck Spots of Spiritual Trauma: Stuck Spot#1-Hearing God’s Voice
The Stuck Spots of Spiritual Trauma: Introduction
When I released my memoir, Me Among the Stars, the week of Elliot’s birthday this past May, I felt like some part of the grief and trauma journey was completed. The death of my son forever altered me, and I spent the first six years of aftershock recovering from grief, loss, and some post-traumatic stress.… Continue reading The Stuck Spots of Spiritual Trauma: Introduction
The Good “And”
When my son Elliot died, my response was, understandably, railing against the evil of his being taken from me. I couldn’t see any grace in it, and I will still bristle if an off-handed comment, especially from a religious onlooker, tries to bring “good” from the daily aching pain of being separated from my child.… Continue reading The Good “And”
Redeeming Time
In Ephesians 5, Paul exhorts his readers to redeem the time, because the days are evil. Many other translations call it “making the most of every opportunity.” But I like redeeming the time. That phrase from Scripture has always struck me as poetic. Webster defines the word redeem as to free from what distresses or… Continue reading Redeeming Time
My Son Can Hear You
“How old is he?” “Four.” “He’s SO TINY!” My son looks up at me, those big brown eyes questioning. My face grows hot, but I smile and continue checking him in for children’s church. I don’t say anything. She did not mean to offend. I know this. She does not know the conversations and struggles… Continue reading My Son Can Hear You
My Sons
Which part of your child’s face is your favorite to study? You know what I mean. When he’s still (for two seconds), when she’s sleeping, when laughter alights their faces? I love Valerie’s freckles, sprinkled across her nose like stardust. I adore Sylvia’s sweet little cheeks; there’s something of the baby I carried still there.… Continue reading My Sons
A Goodbye Letter to my Thirties
Dear Thirties, As of today, you are a past-tense timeframe. This is my farewell to you, still-young-but-not-too-young decade of life. I think it’s interesting how we boil people down into their decade. A flippant, “He’s in his early twenties,” may explain away juvenile behavior, while an awestruck, “She’s in her nineties,” produces wonder and respect.… Continue reading A Goodbye Letter to my Thirties
Raw and Filtered 