The first email came a few months after we formally joined the church. The message from the pastor was cryptic, asking my husband and I to come to meet with him. Despite the sparse words, I shuddered, knowing in my bones that this was about me, not a friendly “let’s get to know each other”…

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We don’t normally associate Christmas with our uniquely human need to understand and be understood, but I think the two are inextricably intertwined. I’ve spent my professional life learning how to communicate to people in a way that they can understand. That doesn’t mean I succeed all the time (or even most of the time).…

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Christmas has never been picture-perfect, or at least not since our first child was born almost thirteen (ouch) years ago. That first Christmas we just enjoyed having her home after three months’ worth of hospital stays, two open-heart surgeries, and three separate life-or-death crises. She was home, but with feeding tube, high-calorie formula, many prescriptions, and weekly…

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Two days ago, my friend Tony asked his readers if they would help him understand why the majority of the people who comment on his blog are men. I weighed in, and so did many others. Tony is a challenger, asking questions and debating issues, and it really comes through on his blog (though after…

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I’ve been taking a class on spiritual gifts: what are they, what is their purpose, and which one/s are mine. We squeeze into an ameba-shaped circle around desks and filing cabinets in the church office, most of us perched on metal folding chairs, awkwardly balancing muffins, coffee, and handouts on our laps. It is exactly…

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Steady isn’t very flashy and exciting. Steady is enduring and stable. It’s the straightaway. No loop-the-loops or corkscrews or stomach-in-your-throat drops. Just forward, and not very fast. I can be a bit of a thrill junkie. I love the adrenaline rush of being part of something new, something dramatic, something big and important. Having a…

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