Theater was so important to the ancient Greeks that the state would appoint a wealthy person to support the chorus of a troupe. Twice a year, the state held a contest for the best tragedy and the best comedy. Of course, the playwright received credit for his writing, but the prize officially went to the…
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:11 NIV) On a normal Thursday evening a couple of weeks ago, my daughter and I arrived at her piano teacher’s house…
Farming is unpredictable. Four years on our farm in East Tennessee, and that is probably the major lesson I have come away with. Rain is good. Too much rain is bad. Sun is good. Too much sun is bad. Predators are needed to keep the ecosystem in check. Unless they come after the animals you…
I am currently in a season of “reconstruction” in my faith, following a dark and challenging season of “deconstruction” from which I didn’t know if I would ever emerge. More than ever before in my Jesus-loving life, the less Christ-like realities of the church and organized religion as a whole have been making themselves known…
Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. (1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT) Baby oil is the secret ingredient to homemade modeling…
I’m not sure how the tradition started. When my children were young, we did not co-sleep. I am not against co-sleeping; it just wasn’t something that happened in our family. My son was a super noisy baby (read: laughed out loud in his sleep) and my daughter was particularly independent. I didn’t want to sleep…