My older daughter attends a Lutheran preschool. During the summer the school runs a camp that is more play-based. What our family loves is that they keep the religious content present in both programs. What I especially enjoy is discovering my daughter singing a religious song...
Anyone who has spent much time around our family knows that we are regulars at a particular wholesale warehouse chain. Though you might not think a family of four needs to buy goods in bulk, there are actually quite a few things we regularly purchase to stock our home. Almost every...
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...
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...