"You should read your blog," Peter said.

"What do you mean?"  I asked. I had just told him about an hour on Sunday when I considered sitting on the porch and reading a book but ended up putting away clothes instead. He referred me to a post I had written about learning how to rest.

Oh. Right.

So earlier ...

Two articles about caring for the earth in the most recent issue of Christianity Today...

First, an interview by Andy Crouch with Eugene Peterson and Peter Harris, "The Joyful Environmentalists." It's not yet available online (I'll try to remember to post a link when it is), but for now, Peter Harris ...

Anyone who reads this blog knows I'm someone who loves order and predictability and productivity and, well, balance. I've written before about my desire for balance and some of the holy disruptions that push me off-kilter. Having a newborn pushes me off kilter. Or perhaps I should write, a newborn is ...

Most nights before our kids go to bed, we have a family prayer time. It usually begins with William prostrate on the floor (who knows how he decided that the best way to pray is face to the ground and eyes closed). He usually says, "Thank you for our day. Thank you for our family." Then he adds another ...

For Mother's Day this year, my husband gave me one of those priceless gifts: the gift of time. The idea was that I would go away for two days and night to a retreat center. I'd have endless hours to think and pray and journal and get my spiritual house in order. Then the reality of being a nursing mother ...

Theoretically, I'm a big believer in "observing the Sabbath." I've read books about it, written articles about it ("No Shopping on Sundays") and tried to implement various practices such as not using our household appliances on Sundays. I believe the Sabbath is a gift and a responsibility–a gift that ...

If you had walked into our bedroom this morning, you would have found me sitting in the middle of our bed. My eyes were closed, my legs crossed in what yoga practitioners call "half-lotus" (and what my children call "criss-cross applesauce"). I was using "ujjayi" breathing, something I also learned ...

I have a new article on Christianity Today's website, "A Christian Response to Overpopulation." I'm particularly interested in your response to the readers' comments. For instance, is any talk about overpopulation racist in nature? What responsibility do humans have in "controlling" childbirth and family ...

I'm not really losing my religion. Just seemed like a catchy title. In fact, I'm in far greater danger of losing my faith than my religion.

When I use the word "religion," I mean the theology behind Christianity as well as the external cultural practices associated with it. Theologically, I'm more or ...

It kind of bugs me that the press is paying so much attention to Harold Camping. He's the California preacher who has predicted (for the second time–he was wrong in 1994) that the "rapture" will occur tomorrow. Which is to say, he's predicted that a group of chosen people will be whisked away, swooped ...

A long time ago, I read that most adults in the U.S. only have two or three friends. I was in college at the time, and I thought the data must be wrong. Back then, I saw my "best" friends daily and my "good" friends weekly. I had dozens, if not hundreds of friends. Even now, I have hundreds of "friends" ...

I was putting Penny to bed tonight and I asked, "Do you want me to pray for you?"

She nodded.

"What do you want me to pray for?"

"Help me control my hands at school."

When I had picked Penny up from school that morning, her teacher had told me Penny was "like a tumbleweed." I can imagine the details–rolling ...

Around 5:30 most evenings, the inevitable question arises. What are we going to eat for dinner? Sometimes I've planned it out in advance, but most days it's a scramble. And although I intend to provide nutritious meals every night, efficiency sometimes wins out.

There was a time when Peter bought "healthy" ...

Listening. It's  a daily topic in our household, and it's one of Penny's greatest challenges. A few weeks back, she and William were visiting my aunt and uncle. Aunt Jane asked Penny, "Where are your listening ears?"

"I left them at home," she replied.

"Don't worry, Penny. I brought them for you," says ...

It's easy to be dismissive of children's capacity for spiritual understanding. I've written recently about my trouble explaining Easter to our kids and about our messy prayer times as a family. There's a part of me that wants to give up on theology with our children until they are old enough to talk ...

There's been a fair amount of reporting on the celebrations that followed immediately after news of Osama Bin Laden's death, with people swarming Times Square and flocking to the White House to cheer and dance and start a party.

But members of various religious communities have expressed concern over ...

"An 'innocent' Jesus does not overpower sin. A righteous Jesus does. The world needs less innocence and more righteousness."

–Greg Carey, Sinners

In this week's New York Times Magazine, Benoit Denizet-Louis profiles a place called St. Anthony's House, where alcoholics can go and keep drinking. They receive ...

We practice praying as a family. Sometimes we have our kids repeat the Lord's Prayer after us. Sometimes we go around in a circle and say one thing we're thankful for and one thing we need. Last night was a freestyle night.

William started out prostrate, and his prayer was something like, "Mandoobo, ...

"Doing away with hell, then, is a natural way for pastors and theologians to make their God seem more humane. The problem is that this move also threatens to make human life less fully human."

So says Ross Douthat in an essay for the New York Times: "A Case for Hell."

Douthat believes that taking away ...

In yesterday's post, I shared why I believe the resurrection happened. But I also want to explain why I believe the resurrection makes a difference–in the world and in my life.

Christians believe that the resurrection proves that Jesus was who he said he was–the Christ, the King, the Son of God–sent ...