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November 2013

November 19, 2013

“We can just love them”: Adoptive Parents on Their Kids with Special Needs

In honor of National Adoption Month, I'm featuring below an excerpt from Love You More: The...

November 08, 2013

[Snapshots from Oak Ridge] The Problem with Universal Self-Esteem Boosts

It has become a cultural cliché, how our children are bombarded with efforts to raise...

October 2013

October 22, 2013

Let the Kids Keep Their *@$%#^ Halloween Candy!

This is an updated version of a piece originally published as an op ed in...

October 17, 2013

Do I Still Think Overscheduled Kids are a Myth? Yes…Sort Of

A little more than a year ago, I wrote that I believe the prevalent notion...

September 2013

September 27, 2013

[Snapshots from Oak Ridge] What My Kids and My Garden Have in Common

I struggled to find a good photo subject for today's post. Right now, most of...

September 20, 2013

[Snapshots from Oak Ridge] I Wrote a Book. Want One?

I will confess something that will be not at all surprising to most of you,...

September 19, 2013

Made by God in Rainbow Hues: On Raising a Gender Nonconforming Child

Yesterday my son came down in one of his more glittery, fabulous shirts—a shirt purchased...

September 13, 2013

Finding God at Rock Bottom

Karen Beattie and her husband went through a difficult few years. She was unexpectedly laid...

September 10, 2013

Caring for the Small and Vulnerable

At the end of each day, somewhere around 9 p.m., comes this moment: I let...

August 2013

August 29, 2013

Passing on the Faith: Community Trumps Theology

In church choir, my children are learning what it means not just to go to...

August 18, 2013

On Disquiet Time and Chickens

Hello friends. I am popping in to say that I will be blogging minimally between...

August 01, 2013

The Redemption of the Mundane: My Post at Convergent Books

There's a new imprint in town! Convergent Books is a division of Penguin Random House...

July 2013

July 25, 2013

Why I’m Celebrating the Royal Birth

Oy. So much cynicism. Ever since Kate Middleton gave birth to the new prince, George...

July 22, 2013

My Kids Are All Gone, and I Don’t Miss ‘Em

Forty-eight hours. That's how long I have without one. single. child. in my home requiring...

July 18, 2013

I am Pro-Choice, But Jezebel Does Not Speak for Me

My friend and colleague Amy Julia Becker wrote a lovely post on the Christianity Today women's...

July 17, 2013

College Hookup Sex is Built on a Troubling Ethic of Achievement at Any Cost

After reading Kate Taylor’s New York Times article on the culture of casual hookup sex...

July 15, 2013

A Reminder of How Much I Have Forgotten

Originally published on my previous blog on July 23, 2011. For two weeks, while the...

July 08, 2013

Resurrection Year: Learning to Live, and Thrive, with Life as It Is Given

Our Western cultural attitudes are not well-equipped for failure. We are a culture of optimists...

June 2013

June 18, 2013

Have One Child or Many, Just Don’t Plan on Getting What You Expect

Whether you choose to have one child or many, the children you end up with,...

June 13, 2013

Because He Cleans the Shower Drain: A Father’s Day Tribute

Sometimes I fall into the trap of believing that I already do everything anyway, that...

June 11, 2013

I Have a Kid Hangover (But Manage to Write Anyway)

The past thirteen-plus years for me have been one long exercise in welcoming the messy,...

June 10, 2013

Instead of Judging Our Fellow Parents, How About Offering Empathy & Respect?

Parents love to judge each other for all kinds of perceived failures. Here are some...

June 06, 2013

Gratitude in an Overscheduled Season

As the school year winds down, my calendar greets me each morning with its list...

May 2013

May 28, 2013

How Poverty Affects Vaccination Rates

Last fall I pointed blog readers to my colleague Rachel Stone's post on vaccination as...

May 14, 2013

Does God Hate Clutter? I Used to Think So, But Now I’m Not So Sure

All of our stuff can distract and overwhelm us, but it can also provide context....

May 09, 2013

The Summer When I Didn’t Cherish Time with My Kids

Note: I wrote this in the summer of 2009. I am reposting it here as...

May 02, 2013

Parents-to-Be Have More Choices Than Ever, But We Can’t Choose Our Way Out of Pain

Jennifer Gilmore’s story is enough to scare anyone away from open adoption. (It also provides...

April 2013

April 23, 2013

On Silence and Simplicity & Their Opposites (Or, Why I Have Decided to Keep Writing Despite the Prospect of a “Real” Job and a Paycheck)

My blog has been silent for several weeks now, and perhaps some of you have...

March 2013

March 25, 2013

Is That the Whir of Helicopter Blades? On Lavish Maternal Love vs. Overbearing Control

I had dinner the other night with my play group/moms' group/book group. We are a...

March 13, 2013

Living Well with More: Learning to Love (or at Least Accept) My Kids’ Stuff

Graham Hill's op ed about living well with less in last Sunday's New York Times...