Have you ever been totally surprised by a conversation? One day I felt discouraged after an interaction with someone I deeply respected. Our conversation turned painful, leaving me surprised and hurt.  That night, as [...]

One of my favorite things about the week between Christmas and New Year's Day is the opportunity to reflect and dream: to reflect on the gifts of the previous year and dream God-sized dreams [...]

This week, our tree transitioned from pieces in a cardboard box into a twinkling memorial to holy days. Some were ecstatic to decorate. Some wished they were doing something else. The parents were tired [...]

We each have a unique way of seeing the world, on this side of eternity. This week a friend’s glasses broke. And while he waited for his replacements to come in, he had to [...]

Coffee cup perched on the arm of the chair, I enjoy a morning on the back porch before the day heats up and August rages in with full heat. Yesterday our family went out [...]

Making small talk in the kitchen at church one Sunday, a young man told me he had camped out the night before. We commiserated about how the unexpected cold had surprised him and how [...]