How can you reduce holiday stress?
It is sunny and 54 degrees here in Chicago today, which is lovely. Except that it really doesn't feel like December, and it's making me deny reality: Christmas is a little over three weeks away, [...]
The Gift of Christmas Present devotional now in paperback!
Happy Thanksgiving! Although it’s our second holiday season in a pandemic, things have shifted. Perhaps this year, we will gather with friends and family. We can’t rely on past holidays to inform this season, except [...]
Excavating Beauty: what lies beneath the surface?
I never really liked the beige Berber carpet in the family room. When we moved in two decades ago, though, we figured we’d eventually update the room, with its very '80s wall of mirrors and [...]
Fuel for the long run of Lent
Last week, my crocuses bloomed brave and bright. Today, there is a 100 percent chance of snow. We’re in the slog of Midwestern spring, which is not really spring at all, but rather weather that teases [...]
What are you longing for this Lent?
I went for a run this week in the woods. The subzero weather has abated, and things are beginning to melt. But the path shaded by tall, bare trees remains hidden from sunlight, and still [...]
How has the pandemic formed you?
On a Zoom call with my long-time running buddy Maryam this morning, the day in between her birthday and mine, we looked back at a year. Would we have imagined a year like the one [...]
Where is God? A lesson from bulbs
“Where is God in this mess?” “Does God even hear my prayers?” In my work as a pastor, I hear these kinds of questions a lot. And in some of the situations where I sit [...]
A springtime gift for your soul: Sabbath
Winter seems unwilling to yield to spring here in the Midwest, and I know we all feel weary. A month ago, my crocuses bloomed. Crocuses This week, we're getting snow. Check out this [...]
Between “back to school” and “holiday hectic”–a reprieve
My connecting flight (which I make by only 10 minutes) takes me over the Grand Canyon at sunset. I’m relieved to be on the plane, blown away by the beauty, and suddenly sad for the [...]
Soul Care for Leaders
"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work [...]