I needed a summer job. She was planning to be a lifeguard. It sounded perfect, the two of us up there on that tower, getting tan and getting paid, red buoys announcing that we mattered. If she could ascend that ladder, then surely I could, too. Passing the written test was easy, and I CPRed the hell out of that doll. The only thing left to do was prove I could swim. I knew I couldn’t keep up with her, but you better believe I tried. She may have been a 4-time All American sprint …
#KKLReads (vol. 1)
It's been a wonky, exhausting month or so of leading and working and parenting and all the other "ings." That said, I'm tired of taking myself so seriously and just want to talk about books, okay? Fiction A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman This charming story about a curmudgeon named Ove (ooo-veh) was originally published in Swedish, so I knew it could be trusted because...IKEA. It's a story about the sadness that lies behind Ove's cranky exterior and the people who help him see that …
A Prayer for IF:Gathering
God, you’ve done it again. You’ve set the table, straightened the chairs, and bid us come. Plain is your beauty before us. We are utterly unworthy of this invitation, and yet here we see our names, and our seats, and our sisters. You’ve been expecting us. All of us, and each of us, and even us. We are yours. And we belong. Thank you for calling us here, for meeting us here, for setting a place for us here. We are wide-eyed and wide-awake as we reach for our chairs and brace …
Dismount
I will always remember 2015 as the year of the horse. That died. Twice. Time of death? When God moved on. ** Of all the beautiful, challenging words spoken at IF:Gathering 2015 last February, these seven from Christine Caine settled heaviest on my heart: “Sweetheart, if the horse is dead...dismount.” She was preaching from Joshua 1 where God is like, “Hey, Josh. Remember Moses? He's dead. That thing I was doing with him? Yeah, I’m not doing that anymore. I blessed all of that once, but …
A Holiday Book Brain Dump
I don't know if this makes me crazy or smart, but one reason I read so many books is to make this very week of the year so much easier. I know which books I want to give people, I know which ones I want to ask for, and I know right where to look to hook my family up with some fun holiday reading. It occurred to me this weekend that some of you might appreciate a bookish brain dump, so here's a list of what I'll be giving my friends, what I'll be asking for from my family, and what we'll …
