It's time to leave the beach, and I dread making the announcement. The beach has become a reprieve for me in the busy days of parenting our three little boys. They were born within three years, so we never had time to store the stroller. I just kept squeezing them in and strapping them on—the … [Read more...] about Does it Seem Futile?
Easter
One More Important Cancellation
Is your Easter Sunday going to look a little different this year? Every year on Easter Sunday, our extended family begins our resurrection celebration with a sunrise service. At the end of a low-maintenance gravel road, 20-30 people--depending on the unpredictable spring weather—gather on the … [Read more...] about One More Important Cancellation
What was in Mary’s Heart on that Skull-shaped Hill?
For those who’ve grown up in church, the Easter story is a familiar one. So familiar are the words hope and doubt, death and resurrection, that the true meaning of them lose their splendor. Sometimes their familiarity in our Easter vocabulary even breeds a heart-level boredom. So, when I was … [Read more...] about What was in Mary’s Heart on that Skull-shaped Hill?
An Easter Ballad for the Day In Between
I can trace my love of imaginative, biblical narrative round and round the grooves of an LP 33 speed record album. Maybe you don’t remember, but a record album (pronounced reh-kerd al-buh-m) was in popular use shortly after the invention of the wheel and hieroglyphics--or so it seems. In … [Read more...] about An Easter Ballad for the Day In Between
Peter’s Honest Confession
{This work of fiction is based on the framework of John 21:15-19. Previously, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4} The beach was waking up. Gulls bobbed on the water, squawking at the fishermen and diving for food. Other boats pulled up to the shore, their crews gaping at the huge catch that had … [Read more...] about Peter’s Honest Confession
Daybreak Surprise
{This work of fiction is based on the framework of John 21:6-7. Previously, Part 1:} Peter coiled the ropes into a sloppy pile on the deck. The man on the shore called to them again, but Peter couldn’t hear over the lapping water and sliding ropes “What did he say?” Peter … [Read more...] about Daybreak Surprise