Summertime, and the livin’ is easy—or so the old song goes. Easy isn’t quite how I’d describe what’s been going around here, though. We haven’t eased into summer break; we’ve charged ahead with all cylinders at full throttle. All the cylinders of my minivan’s poor engine, that is—the same vehicle …

Francesca Battistelli’s latest CD has been on autoplay in my kitchen lately, and one song in particular has caused me to reflect on the live-giving friendships I’ve enjoyed over the decades. Often marked by deep conversation, a love of books and—always—lots of laughter, these relationships have spanned generations and seasons of …

For me, prayer is a conversation. A written conversation, mostly. As I explained here, I get distracted easily, and the only thing that really keeps me focused when I’m praying is typing out my words. I’ve been journaling my prayers for so long that it seems almost second nature to me. But …

For the first few months of the year, I spent most of my Sunday evenings talking to a group of women at my church about how God uses the trials and struggles in our lives to make us more useful to Him. The content of the class, which largely grew …

Several years ago, I asked my dad what I was like as a kid. It might sound like an odd question, but having reached a point in my life where I was realizing my views of myself as a child didn’t always match reality, I was curious about his perspective. …