Monday, December 17, 2018
Every time we send a book to the printer, my heart sings. Publishing books is not unlike childbirth—or so I’ve been told. There comes a moment for the author and editor when we each realize that the book we’ve made together is a living thing, separate from our hands...
Sunday, December 16, 2018
I know the heady rush of a party going well and the mounting dread of one that is not. When everyone is having a good time, I’m all in. But when that one person who always acts like a maniac starts acting like I knew they would, it’s hard to stick around longer than...
Saturday, December 15, 2018
I am one of God’s children who is particularly gifted with learning things the hard way. On deadline or under stress, I stick to my to-do list and don’t waver. And then, when I’m almost done, when I can see the finish line, I trip on Jesus and end up falling into a...
Friday, December 14, 2018
I can see Isaiah: one hand in his hair, the other hand pinching the bridge of his nose, eyes squinted shut, cords on his neck standing out with effort as he struggles to keep his temper with King Ahaz. The king turns out to be such a rotten specimen that he’s not even...
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Every reading in the Daily Office lectionary today says basically the same thing: Set your heart on what God has shown you to be true over and over, and don’t quit. God is doing something amazing. Living into that truth is complicated. We live out a faith that is...
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
I’ve been watching folks between 15 and 30 years old making their voices heard in profound and culture-shifting ways. Like Isaiah, they are young and fresh and wide-eyed, but they have been paying remarkable attention to the world around them. They know their stories;...
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Nothing good happens when we forget our stories, our deepest self-knowledge, our understanding of who we are and are called to be. When we forget why we say the words, how the stories have changed us, we lose the substance of ourselves—our muchness, as author Lewis...
Monday, December 10, 2018
I worry that I give God bitter grapes when all God has given me ought to make me sweet. And sometimes, I won’t allow people to just be sweet to me—I struggle not to assume some kind of intent to gain leverage, or buy time, or pacify. Isaiah breaks my heart. He calls...
Saturday, December 8, 2018
Approaching a campsite at dusk after a long hike in, seeing familiar faces or holy trees, sacred springs or a flock of wild turkeys, feels more like coming home than walking into my house. Songs shared around a campfire between friends, whether singing like angels or...
