We usually rest on Sundays, well, as much as any family with three young children can rest. We avoid stores (except for yesterday, when, in preparation for Sandy we not only went to the mall to retrieve my computer but also went to Walmart, bought some wine at the liquor store, ...

We went to pick apples again a few days ago. I was struck by the sheer abundance, what seemed like almost a wasteful amount of apples littering the ground and hanging from those gnarled branches. Soon the trees will be bare, dormant. They will enter a season of waiting in which ...

This month's cover story for Christianity Today profiles 50 evangelical women who "are profoundly shaping the evangelical church and North American society." And somehow, I made the list, along with 49 other women who pretty much all seem far more noteworthy than I do (say, ...

"Use your words."

"You can't always get what you want."

"Take a minute to think about it, and then tell me the truth."

"Remember to share."

"Instead of grabbing, please ask nicely."

I repeat these phrases throughout the day, pretty much every day. I want my children to learn how ...

It was the third Sunday after our move, and our kids learned about the fruit of the Spirit in church. We talked about it at dinner that night. They were relishing the memory—a smorgasbord of pineapple, orange, kiwi, and strawberries from earlier in the day, topped with whipped ...

It's starting to feel like home, with coats hanging near cubbies and routines for the morning (except this morning, when William woke up at 4:52 and Penny followed soon thereafter...) and the drive to school for William and Marilee and the bus pickup for Penny. They are starting ...

Last spring, I had the privilege of sharing some thoughts at the Q Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. I gave a talk about Penny, perfection, and prenatal testing. It's only 9 minutes long, but it summarizes things that I've spoken and written about before, but if you're interested, ...

What comes to mind when you hear the word "retarded"?

I'm going to guess that it strikes many readers of this blog as rude, if not offensive, because so many people within our culture use the word as a joke or a slur. It originated as a medical diagnosis for people with low IQ's ...

A friend of mine once mentioned the three stages of memoir writing. There's living it, writing it, and then reflecting with other people about it. A Good and Perfect Gift was published a little over a year ago, which probably means it's time to move on. But before I completely ...

A friend passed along an amazing article about the search and rescue of Robert Wood Jr., a young boy with autism, who was lost in a Virginia park for five days last October: Catch Me If You Can. It's an amazing story, but what struck me most of all was that the man who ...

My day as a mom doesn't involve much thought about our government. I think about packing lunches for school, wiping counters, getting our kids dressed in clothes that are somewhat appropriate for the weather outside. I think about how many minutes of television William (age ...

... what has it done to the rest of my family?!?

I think I've mentioned that in the past seven weeks we've moved, twice. First into very temporary housing, and then, three weeks ago, into a rental house. We'll be here until February when we move into our permanent home.

Five days ...