My family and I are refugees in our own country. I’m just trying to be a good parent and love my kids, but the state that always has been my home no longer is a safe place for me and…
del Toro’s Pinocchio is a tale of faith that is not wooden
Little did Pinocchio know as he stood amidst the congregation, playfully mimicking the crucifix with outstretched arms and joined feet, that he would soon be hung on a cross as well. In Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, now streaming on Netflix, del…
On the baptism of our firstborn
“This is our boy!” I wept as he arrived, marveling at the good long-awaited gift now tucked into my arms. Josh and I had forgone the clumsy practice of the gender-reveal, opting instead for mystery and patience and curiosity that…
Sandra and Andy Stanley: ‘We’re not perfect parents, but we’ve learned some things along the way’
Sandra and Andy Stanley were not perfect parents and did not raise perfect kids. That’s why they’re willing to write about their experiences in hopes of helping other families. Because Stanley is the well-known pastor of North Point Church in…
A privileged white Southern dad reflects on racism and the legacy of MLK
“I was born a poor Black child.” So begins Steve Martin’s movie The Jerk — the first R-rated movie I saw. I was 13 and begged my college-professor father to take me. As we were leaving his office, he asked…
Blessed are the mess makers
I am amazed at how the tiniest habits have followed me throughout my life. A cluster of repetitive acts stacked upon one another like gathering cornerstones. Building my character while leaving me to discover who I am and who I’m…
Blessing is naming what is true
“You are so blessed.” I hear this statement sometimes, usually in places where my bandwidth for seeing the sacred is about gone. In the grocery store, when my four little goofballs are hanging off a cart or screaming, I don’t…
When being a ‘blessing’ comes with some baggage
This is the fourth in a November series produced by BNG on what it means to be “blessed,” a word so flippantly used that it often loses meaning. For those of us who grew up evangelical, the term “blessing” comes…
Original blessing, the #blessed hashtag, and what it really means to be blessed
This is the third in a November series produced by BNG on what it means to be “blessed,” a word so flippantly used that it often loses meaning. One morning nine years ago while driving my children to school (and…