August 2012

Are Kids Sinful?...as the mother of three children, I’ve started to wonder if children are really the best example of the doctrine of original sin...

Before going to seminary and then having children, I worked in youth ministry with teenagers for five years. As such, I sat through countless systematic presentations of the gospel in which someone was assigned "the sin talk." These talks varied from camp to camp and speaker ...

Girl With Down Syndrome in Danger

We moved yesterday, so I don't have much time to write, but I wanted to urge you all to pray.  A young girl who is reported to have Down syndrome has been arrested in Pakistan for allegedly burning pages of the Koran. Here is the email I received from the National Down Syndrome ...

What Does it Mean to Pray in Jesus' Name?What Penny taught me about praying "in Jesus name."

"What in Jesus name mean, Mom?" Penny asked after I had prayed for her the other night.

I more or less say, "In Jesus Name, Amen" to conclude every prayer. And I had a vague memory of asking myself what exactly those words mean a long time ago. But when Penny asked me, I was ...

Why I Love SummerA taste of our very summery summer, in photos.

Earlier this summer, I wrote a post about summer camp. What I didn't mention is that camp came on the heels of Penny being denied Extended School Year services by our local town. She was denied because we only live here in the summer. I scrambled to find a camp that would take ...

So You Want to Write a Book? My Best AdviceI started a blog. At first, it seemed like eating my spinach, something I had to do in order to achieve the long-term goal of writing books. I worried...

I don't usually write about writing, but I am a member of the Redbud Writer's Guild, and I submitted a post for their blog, which is all about writing. Here's the beginning, with a link to the Redbud blog, where you'll find countless other posts about writing if you're so inclined... ...

Imagining Your Child's LifeWhat would it take for you to imagine life with a child with a disability?

For every pregnant woman, a baby remains a hypothetical being for a long time. Even once that baby is born, parents don't know whether she will love music, whether that straight hair will all fall out or turn curly or change color, whether he will fight with his siblings, whether ...

Abortion and the ElectionObama or Romney could employ a practical approach to abortion reduction as a way to attract swing voters, so why is it a taboo topic?

I have a new post at parents.com, "Why Aren't Obama and Romney Talking About Abortion?"

It begins:

My kids love to hear stories about when they were born. They know the quirky details—that Penny was easy to push out, that I threw up on the way to thehospital with William, that ...
Who Are You Voting For?Who are you voting for in November of 2012?

Sometime later this week my third post with parents.com about the election will run. My job is to represent the middle way, the moderates, the people who might just vote for a Republican or a Democrat. People like me. And so perhaps it comes as no surprise that I find the arguments ...

Should abortion be an automatic option with a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome?A condensed version of the debate within the Down syndrome community about whether or not those of us with children with Down syndrome should allow abortion into the conversation surrounding prenatal diagnosis...

I was headed to a wedding out of town last week, so I asked my online friend Stephanie Meredith to offer a guest post about resources for women with a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome. Stephanie is the author of the booklet created by Lettercase.org, which was prepared with ...

Explaining Accidental DeathMy thoughts and prayers surrounding every parent's greatest fear...

It seems somewhat out-of-keeping with the tone of the summer, with barbecues and laughter and fireflies and staying up later than usual and sandy feet and hydrangeas, but all summer long, in the midst of the delightful moments, I have also been thinking about how easily those ...

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