On Sunday we lit the second Advent candle in church, which means I’ve been observing Advent for the first time as an adult for about a week and a half. I’m pretty sure you need to practice this tradition for years to be able to really sink down into the season and begin to glimpse the treasures it offers, but, here, quickly, are a few initial observations. 1. Waiting Is Undervalued. I admit that I...
It all started with Chaim Potok—the 20th century Jewish novelist who wrote mainly about Orthodox and Hasidic Jews living in New York City, and is famous for such books as The Chosen and My Name is Asher Lev. I discovered his novels in college, and, after reading a few of them, I came to a very startling realization: I wanted to be Jewish. This new dream elicited much confusion and consternation from those with whom...
Warning: Spoilers ahead for classics you should have already read! I didn’t want to write for the blog this week. I’m going through a very difficult situation at work that has me feeling like I’ve been turned inside out. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I can’t see through to the outcome. I’m having trouble imagining what awaits me on the other side of this mess. And I hate it. It’s scary and uncomfortable...
Sometimes in life we have the opportunity to be something especially beautiful: we have the opportunity to be the answer to someone’s prayer. I was staying at a friend’s house one night, and we were sitting together watching TV when I got a call from my sister. She was sad and overwhelmed and had no idea how she was going to pay for her next semester of college. After cobbling together student loans, government grants,...
The Huffington Post recently published an article thanking the parents of young children for bringing their kids to church because of all that it teaches us about being part of the Body of Christ. I couldn’t agree more. Specifically, I think of all the things the children in our church have taught me about the Eucharist. When you take the Eucharist surrounded by children, you experience theological truths in the flesh. You see them brought...
I saw Austenland recently. For those of you who haven’t heard of it—it’s a movie about a woman obsessed with all things Jane Austen, who’s been unlucky in love and decides to spend her life’s savings to attend an immersive Austen experience in England complete with manor house, Regency attire, and gentlemen of fortune. I laughed until there were tears pouring down my face. It was charming, witty, and hilarious, and it proved to be...
A friend of mine recently found out that her husband has been doing drugs behind her back for four years. The drugs have opened the door to all kinds of betrayal and hurt: lying, adultery, personality change, and absence. As she and I talked together on the beach in the perfect California sunlight, and she poured out the story of discovering, piece by heart-breaking piece, her husband’s duplicity, I could only sit in stunned disbelief....
My friend Adria Murphy writes for me this week, with thoughts on materialism, treasure, and the wisdom of Wendell Berry: The jewelry store in my mother’s neighborhood was going out of business. Sale prices intended to empty the shop of its shining inventory, handwritten on construction paper, obstructed our view of the otherwise impeccably clean display cases. The contents of the cases were simple, classic, and costly. Sapphire stud earrings and delicate diamond tennis bracelets–tasteful,...
Sometimes I like to read a popular book, a book that everyone is reading—so that I can know what everybody is talking about and, maybe, join in the conversation. So a couple weeks ago I read The Fault in Our Stars—the latest young adult novel from author John Green. The book—about two teenagers who meet at a cancer support group—is instantly gripping, and continues on to tell–in quick-witted, excellently crafted prose—a heart-wrenching, beautiful, soul-searching story...
I want to tell you a story. Five years ago today, I got dropped off on Biola University’s campus to catch a ride with a stranger to the Bay Area for Spring Break. My dear friend Sarah and her parents had graciously invited me to spend the week at their home on a vineyard in wine country since I couldn’t afford a flight to Florida where my family lives. I also couldn’t afford a flight...
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