Some regional traditions are tough to explain if someone isn’t already familiar. So many of the things folks do in any area are easiest learned when we simply grow into them. For instance, in many parts of the country horse…
This Christmas season, let’s not kill Jesus before he’s even born
As Christmas nears, one of my favorite things to do is look at Christmas lights. Nothing feels more festive than driving around that one neighborhood in town with the large historic homes decorated immaculately with twinkling lights and Christmas cheer….
The shock of being 60 years old
I turned 60 years old this past summer. I have not quite gotten over it yet. Sixty is just different. It definitely feels at least three years older than 59. “They” say age is just a number. So maybe this…
On meeting death as a sister
What if death isn’t the enemy we often think it is? And what if reconsidering our theology of death might help us live deeper into the union of self and neighbor? In four weeks, Christians across the world will celebrate…
When the system is based on comparison, won’t someone always be ‘more blessed’ and ‘less blessed’ than another?
Walking into the room, I saw a 3-year-old with a cast on his leg sitting in his hospital bed surrounded by plush Hulk, Captain America and Spider-Man toys. Sitting next to the bed was a weary-looking mom, who welcomed me…
What the grieving wish you knew about the holidays
Holidays often are difficult for those who grieve the death of a loved one. Truth be told, most would rather avoid the season altogether and disappear until Jan. 2. We can’t take their grief from them, but we certainly can…
Seeing mortality as blessing
Memories have become capricious things as I approach my seventh decade on Planet Earth. Conversations I could swear happened just a few days ago actually stretch back 20 years or more, yet there are days when I can’t remember whether…
A heavenly reunion: Imagining my two mothers meeting at a Formica dinette on a cloud
Editor’s note: Lawanna McIver Fields died at her home in Nashville, Tenn., Nov. 5. She was well known in Baptist circles for a number of reasons, among them her role as a lay leader at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas…
A Southern Baptist saint: Gratitude for the life of Leslie Jordan
When I saw the tweet that read “Comedian Leslie Jordan dead at 67,” I gasped. Then immediately, I felt a tear forming in my eyes — and I never cry. I began scrolling until I found an article that confirmed…