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July 2013

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 19, 2013

[Snapshots from Oak Ridge] My Writing Companion

When I sit outside to write, my dog Sunday insists on being nearby, even when...

July 10, 2013

Do I Love the Bible? It’s Complicated.

Christians like me, who lean left on political and social issues, are often accused of...

June 2013

June 24, 2013

Everyday Resurrections (& a New Bench)

This post is very slightly edited from its original version published last August. You'll note...

June 20, 2013

5 Truths About Blogging (IMHO)

As always happens when conflict and controversy and hurt feelings come gushing forth from the...

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 06, 2013

Gratitude in an Overscheduled Season

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

April 2013

April 30, 2013

A Different Take on Why Bad Things Happen to Good People

Questions around suffering and pain are stock in trade for me as a writer. I...

April 29, 2013

Questions Remain About the “Controversy in Candy Land”

On Saturday, Jana Riess posted a piece on her Religion News Service blog raising questions...

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 27, 2013

Rachel Stone’s “Eat with Joy”: Why Healthy Eating Goes Beyond What We Eat

It is fitting that I’m writing this review of Rachel Stone’s new book Eat with...

March 12, 2013

Taboo Stories About Disability: What We’re Not Allowed to Say

Last week's New York Times featured a story about Joshua Miele, who at the age...

February 2013

February 18, 2013

Should We All Give Up Reading the Comments Section…Forever?

Two of my friends, both of whom are writers with plenty of experience in the...

February 01, 2013

Why I Love Writing, But Don’t Always Like It

I have been on an Alice Munro binge, gobbling up her latest collection of short...

December 2012

December 24, 2012

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (Including Me)

According to the Mayans, the world was supposed to end on Friday. It didn't. But...

December 20, 2012

What to Do Now? Teach Kindness, Work to Curb Violence, and Hug Each Other

There are so many valuable words coming from my writing friends and colleagues in the...

December 18, 2012

On Blogging in Response to Tragedy

As I sat on the sunny bench in my front yard on Friday afternoon, where...

October 2012

October 20, 2012

On Going Viral

Well, this has been interesting. As of right now, my post on "Why I am...

October 12, 2012

On Writing, Reading, and Seeking Direction

I feel I owe regular readers of this blog an apology...or at minimum, an explanation....

July 2012

July 31, 2012

Six Annoying Things that Readers Say To and About Bloggers

One commenter to my essay on the New York Times Motherlode blog last week, in...

July 27, 2012

Patheos (& Other) Peeps: More Voices on the Colorado Shooting, Guns, and Violence

Every Friday, I share links to blog posts by other writers. I link often but...

July 22, 2012

For Christians, Gun Control Should Be a No-Brainer. Why Isn’t It?

Again, I awake to news of an inexplicable mass shooting, people gunned down in the...

July 17, 2012

Plugging in Again….A Little Reluctantly

Did I say I was taking a three-week break from blogging? Yes. Yes I did....

May 2012

May 15, 2012

Another Q&A on “No Easy Choice”

Yesterday, Sandra Glahn (co-author of several books on infertility with Dr. William Cutrer) featured a...

May 11, 2012

MOMumental: A Parenting Book Even I Can Endorse

Let’s be clear: I do not “do” parenting books. I don’t read books about how...

May 10, 2012

A Collection of Stories About Reproductive Technology

As Amy Julia Becker so eloquently wrote in her review of my book last week,...

May 04, 2012

Patheos (& Other) Peeps: On Marilynne Robinson and the Fear Culture

Every Friday, I post a link to a blog post, sometimes written by one of...

April 2012

April 27, 2012

Patheos (& Other) Peeps: The Festival of Faith and Writing

Every Friday, I post a link to a blog post, sometimes written by one of...

April 25, 2012

A Haiku About Gallbladder Surgery (Yes, Really)

Rather frequently, someone asks me if I ever expect to write fiction. My answer: To...

April 23, 2012

A Few of Many Good Words Spoken

I returned yesterday from the biannual Festival of Faith and Writing in Grand Rapids, Michigan....