Being faithful doesn’t mean endless work. It also means attention to the movement of spirit that can appear as an hour of sleep, the truth of a toddler, or a donut in the middle of the day.

I wanted so much to believe that God was watching over this boy, that God was tender and protective and fiercely on the side of life and that this boy would not slip away.

A worship leader who speaks only to the children during story time speaks only to the adults the rest of the time. If an element I've planned for worship deliberately excludes a portion of my congregation, that itself tells a story.

I spent time feeling embarrassed—that somehow I had failed—because I had filed for divorce. It’s been over nine years now, and I wake up every single day happy with my decision.

"When it comes to our children, we do not have the luxury of despair. If we rise, they will rise with us every time, no matter how many times we've fallen before. I hope you will remember that the next time you fail. I hope I will too. Remembering that is the most important work as parents we can...

Once upon a time, a baby was born. Even before that baby was born, there were people waiting and wishing and hoping for that baby. The people who were waiting and wishing and hoping for that baby didn’t know exactly what that baby would be like. And so, they wondered: Would the baby have a smile...

I’m not the same person who stood in that tattoo parlor eleven years ago. Still, I don’t for a minute regret being permanently marked with this snapshot in time, of my wounds and my hope.

Liking somebody, even loving somebody, is not enough to protect them from shade that you cannot even see, much less understand.

My oldest child was confused: why would no one stop and help us? Even though people weren’t stopping to help us, my son said, he wanted to be more like me and stop to help someone anyway.

“It takes a village to raise a child. It takes a child with autism to raise the consciousness of the village.” —Elaine Hall, educator and parenting coach My three-year-old is almost completely nonverbal. Every day when she gets off the bus, I ask her the same question: I ask her how her day...

We were all children once, and we carry fragments of our childhood times with us. Today, let us honor those children who walked before us, who transformed into who we have become, who led us to this place, who have lessons for us still.

“If I ask you a question, do you promise to tell me the truth?" For future reference, if a child asks you this question at Christmas time, EVADE.

We, the willing, follow the threads to one another; past rightness and quips and tweets. We will find one another and persist past sunrise.

We carry bags with us throughout the week for many reasons. (If you have a bag with you, and you want to have it blessed, please bring it forward, send it forward with a helper, or lift up your bag when you hear me describe you.) Some of us take books and homework to school Some of us bring our...

Let us listen deeply to what is on our hearts, Let us listen to what our fears are; Let us listen to the young children, Let us listen to the teens, Let us listen to the elders. Let us listen when the world is sick. Let us listen....

"Fear's pronoun is singular: I've got to watch out for me and mine. Love's pronoun is plural: we're in this together, and together we can grow things that will blossom even in a time of drought." —Kathleen McTigue My son, Caleb, and I went to Starbucks on a recent Saturday morning. We often do...

What DO we do in the face of evil? Anything. Everything. Pray, protest, bake, hug, grieve, wail, laugh, explain, linger, research, fight, cry. What we absolutely must not do is ignore it.

Dear Moppies, Maddies, and Babas; men who have given birth, women whose children still call you Daddy, queer parents of all genders and none, There isn’t a holiday set apart for us. We’re reminded of that twice a year. But I see you. I see you next to your wife’s hospital bed, snuggling your...

I believe in the radical idea that men have the full human capacity to nurture.

Today—and on all other days—may we give thanks for the fathers, papas, pop-pops, dads and daddies who represent for us the steadfast presence that holds us in love and launches us into the world, whether we encounter it when we are small or already grown. May we be mindful of those for whom this...