Trading “I could never…” for “I just did!”
What keeps you from living the life you want to live? Last winter in Chicago, we experienced a deep freeze where the temperature never went above freezing for more than a month, and walking outside [...]
Empty nest? Not so great.
So I have been an “empty nester” for exactly one week. So far, it totally sucks. I do not like it one bit. I am irritable and difficult--I admit this. Something feels off balance, and [...]
Four alternatives to family devotions: family spiritual practices
Family devotions have often felt like an epic fail for us. When my children were small, my husband and I wanted to be what we thought were good Christian parents, so we read Bible stories [...]
Making a spiritual discipline of Sabbath
What does a life of Sabbath Simplicity look like? The unfortunate stereotypes of constant leisure or contemplation don't come anywhere near my crazy working mom life. But I am committed to living a sanely-paced, God-focused [...]
The empty nest
This couch feels vast tonight. Alone, I cannot fill it. I sit, laptop on well, my lap. How many times did I sit on this generous couch, a tweed the color of coffee with cream, [...]
The spiritual practice of hospitality
Parsnips, a humble root vegetable, wait calm on a cutting board. A blue-collar veggie, they oddly resemble the gnarled and always slightly dirty digits of a day laborer. Slowly I scrape away the earthy/auburn skin [...]
Sabbath
I'm speaking on Sabbath next month, so I thought I'd take some notes on what Sabbath looks like at our house, with two teenagers. Fire, fierce and warming, glows in the worn brick fireplace in [...]
“Just a mom”??
Every time I hear a woman describe what she does by starting with the words, “I’m just…” I want to shake her. And then hug her. And say, there’s no such thing as “just a [...]
What do you do with the quiet?
By 7 a.m., my husband had left for an early morning meeting, my son had been picked up for volleyball camp. My daughter, who is fighting a cold, still jet-lagged, and well, 17, is still [...]
Limiting “screen time”
Reader and FB friend Lynda wrote to ask a parenting question. I'm no expert, so I'd love your opinion on this: "how do you limit electronics for your children in your home?" Our kids are [...]