I don’t remember so much Valentine’s Day pressure in my younger years. My mom would make us heart-shaped pancakes, we’d eat way too many of those tiny chalk-flavored candies at school, we’d exchange some cheap paper Valentine cards with our classmates, and that’d be it. Then social media happened. And suddenly it wasn’t enough to tell … More 10 Valentines to Give your Kids
The first church I pastored was in rural Wisconsin. Farm country. We lived on the town’s main thoroughfare, and our toddler son often stood glued to the front window watching tractors roll down the street. A man in our congregation heard that Daryl had never driven a tractor (why this surprised him I do not know, since Daryl grew … More Waking Up in Anxious Times * 10 Minute Devotional
Denise Levertov wrote a poem called “The Ache of Marriage.” When I studied it in college I wanted to throw it in the garbage. Marriage achy? Pfffft. Another example of a poet writing silly nonsense. Then I got married. That Levertov? She knew some things. Daryl finished his PhD this September. In many ways, his dissertation became a third … More The Ache of Marriage
I just got back from ten days in northern Wisconsin (folks from northern Wisconsin always specify the northern because southern Wisconsin is cities and farmland, while the north is woods and lakes and white-tailed deer and air so fresh your lungs practically say “thank you” with each exhale). I grew up there, and my parents still live … More Top 10 Signs You’re at Your Childhood Home
My sisters and I grew up attending Christmas Eve services at a rural evangelical church in the northern woods of Wisconsin. It was as picturesque as that sounds–snowy woods filled with evergreens and white-tailed deer and birch trees. After the services every kid was given a brown paper bag filled with candy and an orange, though … More An Unconventional Christmas Eve * Advent Devotional
You guys, I’ve never met Aubry Smith but we are friends. How can you NOT be friends with someone who has traveled halfway around the world to serve and educate pregnant and postpartum women AND written an awesome book about God’s role in childbirth? So pleased to be able to share her brilliant and beautiful … More Advent for the Outsider * Advent Devotional
When my sister had her third baby a few years ago, we got the text in the wee hours of the morning. “It’s a boy!” it read. “Everyone is healthy.” I rolled over in bed and tapped my husband’s shoulder. “Cait had her baby!” I whispered. “I’m going!” “Oh good,” he murmured groggily. “Wait, going … More Holy Family * Advent Devotional
I only know the talented Megan Busch through the blogosphere, but after reading her writings one thing became immanently clear to me. WE NEEDED TO BE FRIENDS. Spend some time with her Advent devotional today, and I think you’ll feel the same. I used to keep an unwritten checklist in my heart. Maybe you had … More My Unfinished List * Advent Devotional
Jim’s back! You can read his previous Advent devotional, on listening to Jesus amidst a noisy world, here. Isa 55:6-7 (NIV) Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have … More Give Me a Break * Advent Devotional
Anna Thelen is a doula, nanny, and budding Anglican who lives in Chicagoland. She helped bring our firstborn into the world and has been one of my dearest friends ever since. Isaiah 55:1 (NIV) Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy … More Open Hands * Advent Devotional
Courtney Ellis 