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
Tag: Trauma
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!
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 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
Sentenced to Life
Today is the Spring (or Vernal) Equinox, a day when there is exactly as much light to the day as there is dark. On the Vernal Equinox of 2017, I went in for the 20-week anatomy ultrasound of my growing baby boy, Elliot. We’d endured four months of uncertainty in my awful pregnancy, and finally… Continue reading Sentenced to Life
The Way Things Grow
We just returned from a brief trip to Juárez, México to visit our dear friends, Maria and Gilbert, who run an elementary school and junior high school. Besides just caring about seeing our friends, Dustin and I also wanted to visit since we are on the school board and are deeply invested in what happens… Continue reading The Way Things Grow
The Womb of the World
Last night we had the pleasure of hosting our small group from church. One of my friends in the group is pregnant with her second sweet baby, and someone asked her how far along she is. “30 weeks,” she replied. My mind began reeling a bit. 30 weeks. I delivered Elliot when I was… Continue reading The Womb of the World
Why Adoption? Why Colombia?
When I tell people our family is the process of adopting from Colombia, the questions I most often receive are: “Why adoption?” and “Why from Colombia?” So for any interested parties whose minds may be burning with those same inquiries, here goes. Adoption. Well, I have always been deeply troubled by the thought of… Continue reading Why Adoption? Why Colombia?
Raw and Filtered 