Nolan Bushnell* is the creator of Atari video games. He has been quoted as saying, "Everyone who's ever taken a shower has had an idea. It's the person who gets out of the shower, dries off, and does something about it who makes a difference." I think I identify with this so closely because most […]
We gave the boys new Bibles for Easter, because it was time. They needed to graduate to a version that doesn't say "Little Boy's Bible" on the cover or entice them with animated drawings of someone who may or may not look like Jesus or Moses or Daniel or Joshua. They're leather bound, different from […]
"I have a handful of prayers that I pray all the time. One is that God will put my books into the right hands at the right time. I've prayed this prayer thousands of times, and God has answered it in dramatic fashion countless times. The right book in the right hands at the right […]
I read about this drama sketch, a representation of an invisible truth. The groom stands at the altar, waiting for his bride. Everything is as normal and traditional as you'd expect, except that he's carrying a load of suitcases. Duffel bags, backpacks, in each hand, over both shoulders, and under each arm. They're each labeled […]
The world is so hungry. Surely someone needs what it is in your nature to offer. What do you do that causes you to lose all track of time? Where do you most often experience delight, and when do you sense God's pleasure? Make an altar there, and climb on. You'll love how it feels […]
Good parenting is crazy difficult. Just really hard. Like, really hard. We've been navigating some new waters here, teaching boundaries and respect and discernment and adult skills they may never be thankful for. I was journaling some words about my sons, asking God to give me what I need so I can give them what […]
Did you know that God brought all of the animals to Noah? Because maybe I missed that day of Sunday school, or maybe it just never occurred to me to connect those dots, but I guess I missed that detail along the way. I think I always thought that Noah sent his sons all over […]
I'm freshly home from a Disney vacation, and I have a confession: it's a little bit ridiculous how much we love Mickey Bars. Our collective love for them is enormous. On a Disney vacation, I give us this daily splurge, this afternoon indulgence into chocolate-dipped ice cream bars shaped like Mickey's face, at five bucks […]
There’s a story in the New Testament that has made me angry for a lot of years. It’s the story of the bleeding woman (and how I wish I knew her name, since that’s a horrible way to be listed for-ever), who chased Jesus down while he was on his way to Jairus’ house. She […]
It was a blustery Ohio winter, and it was my first experience teaching kindergarten. There’s so much to love about kindergartners: their span of learning from the first day of school to the last, their joy about life in its altogether greatness, and the gifts they give. Very often, they either had no idea what […]
Sometimes I struggle to direct my thoughts during Communion. It's such a profound, holy moment, kind of high pressure. Think on the right things. Engage. Be here. I mean, whether you believe the bread and wine are symbolic or literal, it's the body and blood of Christ. That's a big deal. Recently, my mind followed […]
You have to know that I’m a conference junkie. I’m a 100% auditory learner, which is maybe an exaggeration since I do most of my learning through books, but still. I’m a lecture-lover at my core. Talk to me with your stories and your bullet points and your sound bytes of glorious quotability, and I […]
It would have been great if we could have made it just a few more weeks (or longer… longer would have been great, too) into football season without a concussion. But here we are, sitting in a room with no light, no stimuli, and no fun, while Tucker recovers from a fall and blow to […]
Saturday was Robb’s birthday, so we went to Red Robin to celebrate and remember. Because Bottomless Root Beer Floats. “We’re here to celebrate,” I told the waiter. “Oh, is it a birthday?” “A very special one.” Peter was gone for the weekend at a men’s conference, so there were only three of us at the […]
What a terrible week of the worst things. I keep writing and deleting. Drafting and scrapping. Typing and backspacing. I don’t know what to say. Fear is all around and that makes me question everything, especially the next word out of my mouth. In that way that I do when it’s all too much, I’ve […]
We are on Day 10 of 11 Days Apart. Home stretch, you guys. Home Stretch. He has finished serving the men of tribal Africa, he has finished two days on Safari with dozens of animals in their native land, and he is en route to Switzerland and back home to me. I got a call […]
Peter is traveling across the word tonight. Quite literally across the world. Tonight, he is on a layover in Switzerland, tomorrow he moves on to another destination where the sun is hotter and the skin is darker and the people need love. And my heart is broken with missing him. I’ve grown quite used to […]
And so it is Easter. It’s the day of all days, the day that makes everything else well and good. Every single other thing is well and good because of today. Every broken heart, every broken dream, every broken marriage, every broken body, every broken life… today promises it won’t always be. This week, I […]
Sex and Fighting share many of the same ingredients. Heightened emotion. Communication. Give and Take. Vulnerability. Desires and wants laid bare. They seem polarized, Like anger and joy, Like laughter and tears. But so often, strong emotions are only a breath away from one another. They are essentially different ways of saying, “This is what I […]
I hate it when people think they know everything. Or even when someone has an inflated sense of what they know about any one thing. But someone said to me recently, "I wish you would tell us more of what you know. Because you do. You know." And so here they are, a few things I […]
