The following was preached at Elmhurst Presbyterian Church Sunday, February 17, 2019 I have been on a journey I didn’t expect and wasn’t ready for – I’m not sure anyone could be ready for it. Today, I want to tell you where I’ve been the past few weeks and what I’ve been learning and experiencing.
Journey Towards Healing Read More »
We’re at the movie theater in Detroit before I got married. Phil is walking ahead of me with a big tub of popcorn and Diet Coke. I’m trailing behind. He finds a seat — not too close, not too far away. “This good?” he says. “Sure.” He walks in and takes a seat. I
Brief Reflections Remembering Phil Read More »
Spend just 2 minutes a day (or less) with each of these gratitude prompts either on your own or with someone in your family or church. Feel free to distribute on your church website or social media or to your families! Gratitude for November! Available as a PDF here. How have you done gratitude challenges
November Gratitude Calendar Read More »
Last night after the “fall festival” at school, wherein we made spiders out of handprints and a spider’s web out of popsicle sticks and yarn and put google-eyes into slime made out of Borax, I asked the kids if they wanted to swing by McDonald’s for supper. I thought there would maybe be pizza for
#McDonalds, Time to Stop with the Gendered Toy Thing Read More »
For the past few years I’ve offered an advent calendar to churches through my Etsy shop. This year I decided to offer it for free, both as a gesture of gratitude to all those churches and individuals who have supported me and my work, and also in the hopes of promoting Faithful Families. Faithful Families is doing great,
Free 2018 Advent Family Faith Practices Calendar! Read More »
Glenys Nellist is one of my very first “author friends.” We became friends because we both love children’s spirituality. I found (and fell in love with) one of her first books: Love Letters from God and I reached out to her. The rest, as they say, is history. We enjoy shooting the breeze about children’s ministry
Three New Children’s Books for Mother’s Day… And a Giveaway. Read More »
On the walk to school a few months ago my five-year-old son, Samuel, asked me a question. Samuel is my second born, sandwiched between my talkative oldest and the attention-grabbing youngest. A classic middle child, he usually keeps a low profile, preferring to keep his thoughts to himself. On this day, though, he surprised me
The Violence of the Cross and Children: Thoughts Before Holy Week Read More »
Make Room: A Child’s Guide for Lent and Easter is a primer on Lent and Easter for young children. It’s part poetry, part practice and part storytelling. It’s divided up into four parts, making time, making space, making room and Holy Week. It describes difficult concepts such as sacrifice and emptying in ways that are friendly
I can’t imagine communion without children being present, partaking in the sacrament right alongside adults. I’m always taken aback, then, when I hear of people or churches requiring communion be reserved for children of a certain age, or for children who have completed some “to do” on the checklist, such as a public profession of
Children at the Table: Some Thoughts on Communion and Children Read More »
