July is always a time for me to reflect on how I got to where I am today: mother of two and professional writer. Twelve years ago this month, my life changed in a big way: I gave birth to my first-born son. But another life-changing event happened after my husband and I came home from...
This summer our family has reignited our interest in backpacking. In our early married years, my wife, Angie, and I backpacked throughout Southern California and took a seven-day trip in the Sierras, which included climbing up 14,500-foot Mount Whitney. When our kids were four and...
For me, summer is a time of rest. And evaluation. Needless to say, I very much look forward to the rest. Evaluation? It feels a little like going to the dentist. I know it’s good for me, but I'm a little afraid of what I might learn. Evaluation means exercising the discipline of...
My mom has repeatedly said, “You’re so reactive. You need to calm down before you speak or act.” She once told my husband, Jesus, “With Mary, just let her react. Don’t fight back. She gets that way, but afterwards, she’ll know she was wrong.&rdquo...
There is a truly striking delphinium plant growing right outside my front door this season. I feel free to offer it such praise because I take nearly no credit for its growth or beauty. I think I remember cutting back the long brown remains of last summer’s growth sometime in...
I was a teacher for 19 years. When I first started out, the pay was pretty skimpy, but after all of this time, I managed to build up a solid salary. I bought a house, I have a car, and I enjoy going out to lots of fancy restaurants. For a variety of reasons, I’d...
For the past few years, my perspective on life has been shaped by the expectation that my entire life has been preparing me for what’s coming next. The progression in my mind goes something like this: Figure out I want to study sociology --> Get a degree from Cal -->...
Keep me safe, O God,I’ve run for dear life to you.I say to God, “Be my Lord!”Without you, nothing makes sense.Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.As for the godly ones in the land, they are the true nobility,in whom is all my delight...
I am the kind of person who likes to know in advance how things will turn out—or, at the least, what to expect. Personality tests I’ve taken show I’m a perfectionist. I pay attention to details and desire certainty and completion. I like working out intricate...
Learning about faith seems to be an ever-present part of my life these days. A little over a year ago, our family of five gave up everything familiar to us and moved to Montevideo, Uruguay, where we work with a branch of Youth for Christ that reaches out to Third-Culture Kids...