As a parent of two young children, I have had to readjust how I do about pretty much everything. Grocery shopping is one of the trickiest. My current method is to put my oldest in the shopping cart seat (luckily she is still small enough for that) and to put my youngest on my chest in a baby...
I was fine until my older daughter’s teacher saw me without the baby, realized I had dropped her off at nursery school, and then asked if I was okay. I really was fine. But as soon as I tried to tell her how fine I was, my eyes moistened. I kept my response short for fear that my eyes...
One of the more regular inquires I get as a priest is about how to pray. The truth is there are so many different ways to pray – ranging from formal methods to totally unstructured methods – that our conversations usually have to include what they have tried already and some teaching...
This week marks the beginning of my maternity leave. My life has already dramatically shifted from getting ready to be away from church for 12 weeks, to getting our family and home ready for a new baby. It is a time of anticipation, busyness, excitement, and a bit of anxiety. As I assured my...
As I approach my delivery date, many people have asked me whether I am ready. I think they usually are asking one of two things (or both): 1) Have I accomplished everything I need to do to welcome the baby?, and/or 2) Am I ready to no longer be bearing the physical burden of pregnancy? It is the...
One of the gifts of being a clergy person is the moments of insight, intimacy, and holiness. That gift is probably one of the primary things that keep me going, especially in the midst of weeks when the vocation feels more full of challenge than full of blessing. The cool thing about the gift is...
I have regularly told people that when I preach, I am preaching to myself. I find that my messages often resonate with others, but first and foremost, I make sure they resonate with me. This has led to me needing to be honest about my faith struggles, to be vulnerable about how I still need to...
I am a huge college basketball fan. Well, actually I am a huge Duke Basketball fan, which means I tend to know more about college basketball than any other sport. This week is the Duke-Carolina game – one of the biggest rivalries in the country and certainly one of the biggest sporting...
Being pregnant is a pretty incredible experience. I have been so grateful to experience the phenomenon one more time with our second child, and continue to be amazed by the miracle of pregnancy. Of course, being pregnant comes with a certain set of consequences too. The funniest for me has been...
Last week I went to visit my OB for a checkup. We began to talk about delivery dates, as I am having a cesarean section with our second child. The doctor selected a date that is about one week before what I expected. I left the office totally panicked. I would need to totally readjust my plan...
