“If our identity is in our work, rather than Christ, success will go to our heads, and failure will go to our hearts.” ~Timothy Keller In case you haven’t already figured this out, I write for myself as much as I write for my readers. Whatever “lesson” I’m learning, I’m still in the process of […]
Identity
who I am in light of the Great I AM
Male and Female and Crossing Over: the Dangers of Rewriting Gender
Our family loves watching competitions together (especially in the baking, cooking, and music fields). My daughter and I feel inspired to learn new baking techniques, explore exotic flavors, and venture into recipes we weren’t brave enough to try before. Everyone enjoys listening to talented musicians show off their vocal abilities, although no one in our […]
What Really Scares You?
Our family launched a new practice this year: we now have enough Nerf guns to have a battle. Turning nearly all the lights out and taking teams, we establish ourselves on opposite ends of the house and slowly make our way toward one another. Three shots and you are out of the game. The kids […]
The Divine 9: Peace, be still, my brother
Okay, back on the Enneagram bus, taking you to another beautiful number and that person’s passions and fears. Some Christians cringe over yet another discussion on personality. After all, these profiles can lead people to rely on crutches instead of submitted themselves to the Lord’s renewing power. Remember, the Enneagram profile only helps us if […]
Feelings over Thinkings: Musings on the 4
“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”~Henri Nouwen My daughter’s tickle box overturns and we chuckle over her crazy drawing: eyes bugged out and a nose that somehow looks like a little butt. Her laughter gives mine permission to overflow too. My 4-year-old tells […]
Dreams, prestige, and the hottest day of the summer
My children are restless, literally wrestling out their excess energy on the floor. They pop out to the backyard, only to burst back through the door after five minutes, faces red and tongues hanging out. So, what do you do when it’s too hot to play? Drink hot tea, of course. My daughter decided to […]
Dear Graduate: Don’t be Afraid of Failure
Dear Graduate, This weekend or next, you will don the robe and ridiculous cap and stride past the other graduates to receive your diploma, the culmination of four years of achievement. On that day, you will feel successful…for you are. But even as you reach for your rolled scroll remember this: every day didn’t feel […]
Recovering AA Member
Everyone has at least one of these people in their life (maybe more…all the more pity, my friend); you know who I’m referring to. That one person who feels the need to correct or critique your life, as if your words and actions were an open invitation for their opinion. Didn’t say something just right? […]
A Valentine for the “Unattached”
Dear “Unattached”, Could any label be more hurtful this time of year? Rejected, maybe…. Unattached not only implies that you have no one to cling to during the holiday, but that you don’t have anyone at all. This idea couldn’t be further from the truth. For all my precious single friends out there, hear this […]
Where Am I?
It seems only natural in January to talk about identity and evaluating goals and all that not-so-fun stuff. Starting a new class session with 29 students–most of them older than me–I hear a lot of comments like, “I never thought this is where I’d be.” As is fitting to the online flexibility, many of my […]