How to place our attention

Eugene Peterson’s new book On Living Well is like a small devotional. The subtitle says “brief reflections on wisdom for walking in the way of Jesus.” I’ve been slowly chewing on it, reading a tiny snippet most mornings. This morning he asked a question. He said, “What gets our attention?…How do we distinguish between the […]

Notes for Friday

As I’ve ventured out into public multiple times over the past few days, I’ve found myself reaching for lipstick. I wear minimal makeup (my normal routine only takes 3 minutes), but lipstick signals courage and cheer. It’s been a weapon for my heart this week. Do Tums treat anxiety? I took two this morning.The ache felt […]

Summer reminders about parenting

I have subbed at the boys’ elementary school two days a week for the past three and a half months. For the most part, I’ve loved it. It’s been a joy to know those kids and help support the teachers. I have also been reminded of things that I want to teach the boys as […]

God’s ongoing love for the world

The news for the past two weeks has seemed almost worse than normal and it’s never been great. Shootings, more shootings, the SBC report, an elementary school shooting. It’s sobering and heavy. Many of my prayers are grief and anger and lament. I’m constantly searching for the balance of paying attention to the world and not […]

That SBC Report

A report on the SBC released this week. You can read Russell Moore’s response here. We attended an SBC church for five years. It was a good church with good people. This was still my response after enough meetings. “Weeding out the women”- as though women are a nuisance to be dug out and thrown […]

Lunch and our spiritual lives

Yesterday, in the newsletter (which you can subscribe to here), I discussed part of my approach to summer. Usually the newsletter is scheduled earlier than Saturday, but I squeaked by making the last changes on Saturday evening this week. Sunday morning, I was sitting quietly in my chair talking and listening to God after reading […]

A Prayer for Racial Violence

God, be near the grieving. Hold them in your love. Free us from our pride and superiority. Rescue us from a frame of reference where we are not safe unless others are broken. May our community spaces be places of life and not death. Turn our guns into shovels, our hate into love, our fear […]