[A retrospective for World Cancer Day: this post was written two days after I discovered I had breast cancer.] June 5, 2008 – After a series of surgeries that removed a large, tentacular tumor from my cheek, I leave the hospital with fourteen stitches and “You are cancer-free!” ringing in my ears, thinking Microcystic Adnexal […]
[For those whose stories feel too dark to share—take courage. Others need to hear about your Postcards from the Pigsty.] In recent weeks, I’ve been contemplating the importance of speaking about the challenges and mistakes in our past. An article about parenting I read this morning (I’m not expecting—just learning!) further stressed the value of […]
[WARNING: Sexual content below.] Shameful admission: in the year 2008, when I was waging a twofold battle against cancer, I began to watch a show called The Bachelor. Or maybe it was The Bachelorette, that season. Whatever the gender of the mate-seeking protagonist, it afforded me a bit of an escape from my torturous reality, […]
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 […]