Because many of you who read my blog knew him, I thought I’d post this video commemorating my dad on this ninth anniversary of his passing into glory. The eulogy I wrote for his memorial service in 2005 is below. I miss him every day. +++ As mom and I sorted through hundreds of pictures […]
Getting to the truth in modern America is a bit of a slimy process. Respectful debate? So old-fashioned. Dissenting civility? Boring and unTweetable. We prefer our “people of influence” to lob a grenade back and forth in a pathetic game of hot-potato until the least agile of the adversaries explodes in a hail of “gotcha” […]
[Scroll down for the musical video at the end of this post…or read the context first to get more out of it!] I was at a Women’s Christmas Tea in London, Canada, last week, where I’d been asked to speak on the topic of angels. Angels, huh? How very Christmas-themy. Though I’ve believed in their […]
(This article was first posted in 2009, when I still lived in Germany. See the end of this piece for the current “State of the Tree” update. If you’re single or know a single person, this might be an idea for you/them to consider…) I briefly visited the Basel Christmas market tonight, and as […]
[Just a word of caution: this article addresses mature subject matter and focuses on the needs of young people who may not have an active relationship with God guiding their sexual choices and behaviors. Grab a cup of tea, settle in, and take a deep breath.] “So do you hate me now?” Her gaze […]
For those who don’t receive my newsletters, this is the latest. One crucial aspect of my ministry is answering the heart-wrenching emails of adult MKs who still struggle to reconcile their experiences with the benevolent and loving God their parents preached. For some, the end result is a disavowal of their faith. Here is a […]
Breast cancer month. A reminder of the year in which a fresh awareness of mortality pushed me deeper into Life. When I first heard the song below, originally performed in French by Laurent Pagny, it moved me in a way music seldom does. There was something so universally profound about it that I vowed to […]
Ro·man·ti·cize (rōˈmantəˌsīz,rə-/) verb To deal with or describe in an idealized or unrealistic fashion; make (something) seem better or more appealing than it really is. I’m not a romance basher. Red roses, chilled wine, handmade cards, carefully chosen words? Count me in. But this article isn’t about the trappings of love. It’s about the prevalent […]
1986. I walked onto the Wheaton College campus for the first time. Everything felt hugely new. New culture, new way of life, new value-system. New educational level, new teaching methods, new homework load. New roommate, new expectations…new everything. I was not prepared for all the newness. I’d said goodbye to my other universe just a […]
I stink at idioms. Most MKs do. And when I inadvertently rewrite them, I tend toward rhymes. “To beat a dead horse” becomes “to flog a dead dog,” and “to blow one’s own horn” becomes “to toot one’s own flute.” Until a few years ago, I tried to mask my idiom-idiocy with semi-sayings along the […]