I thought I'd repost this article I wrote almost two years ago...kind of needed to read it again myself, since my mornings are still like a game show. Sometimes I wonder what in the heck my kids are going to remember about me when they grow up. Are they going to remember how I tried to always point...

Most days, we are going through the motions, trying to succeed in our everyday tasks. And yet, even though we accept and participate in the ordinary, we don’t want to settle for mediocrity. We want our duties and service to be meaningful. Usually, we go about this striving without much confirmation...

The secularization thesis helps us let go of our nearly idolatrous obsession with America in particular and with the west in general, as something that belongs to us that we must win back by another revival, great awakening, or political crusade. It can cause anxiety, but it can also help relieve...

I’ve got some more exciting news—I just signed my contract for a second book with P&R. Theological Fitness is going to be awesome. It is a book about perseverance, about how our aptitude in the Word of God is key in the exhortations to run the race for the prize. The book is based on a verse...

So I am driving home from my morning get-the-kids-to-school shuffle, and I hear a news blurb on the radio that Florida “pastor” Terry Jones was at it again, trying to burn a large quantity of copies of the Koran. Apparently he was caught red-handed while driving his pickup truck hauling 2,988...

I had the pleasure of talking with Camden Bucey, Nancy Guthrie, and Melissa Kruger on Christ the Center about my book, Housewife Theologian . I am being brave (or foolish) by providing the link for you guys before I've listened myself. Matt and I have a couple of hours on the road today and I'm...

My kids know better than to tell me they are bored. But sometimes, they just can’t help themselves. When I’m feeling kind, I’ll let them get away with my enlightening, “Boring people get bored” ditty. Sometimes I will give them some chores to do to make sure they don’t stay bored. And when they...

My last post mentioned how things are not as they seem. That reminded me of one of my favorite stories, so I thought I would repost the review. The Man Who Was Thursday , G.K. Chesterton (First Published 1908; 2011 reprint, Simon & Brown) This book rocked my face off. It’s insane! No, I think...

Christians, above all, should want to be helpful people. And we know that women are distinctively created to be helpers. Unfortunately, we have often failed to uphold the value of this responsibility. We wrongly belittle the helper as the subservient role, like mommy’s little helper in the kitchen...

Hope I don't annoy you too much with talk about my book this week, but it is now printed and at the publisher. I will have some cool updates to share, and then we'll be back to Norman around here, as I like to say. So here is my book trailer. It's crazy awkward watching myself talk all cheese-like...

Holiness knows no do-overs. When I meet my Creator, I cannot call a mulligan. Good is pure, or it is not good. The minute we look to anything else other than God for good, we have turned from holiness and toward evil. Period. No second chance. But he gives us something better. He gives us his own...

Derek Webb put out a song back on his Mockingbird album that I think about often. It is called “A New Law” and it opens like this: Don't teach me about politics and government just tell me who to vote for Don't teach me about truth and beauty just label my music Don't teach me how to live like a...

Funny story: My good friend Dana asked for this book, Drinking with Calvin and Luther!, for her birthday. It was not available through Amazon directly, so I had to go through the publisher. The book took forever to come, and when it did finally arrive, the flimsy manila envelope it was packaged in...

My brother, Luke, has a mixed martial arts academy. He wrote an interesting article yesterday that I wanted to interact with called “ The Art of Fighting Without Fighting .” He begins with a scene from a Bruce Lee movie: While on a boat on his way to Han's Tournament as an undercover agent, "The...

[caption id="attachment_2202" align="alignleft" width="180"] We didn't know we formed a heart <3[/caption] Last week we loaded up the Traverse and headed to Corolla beach in the Outer Banks. We joined my dad, step-mom, and my twin 13-year-old brothers, my brother and his family, and my sister...

Continuing with my reposts from my "Songs" category, this is one of my favorite articles I've written. One of my all-time favorite songs is Landslide , by Stevie Nicks. For a long time, I have felt a connection with this song, and to her voice in it. In looking into Stevie’s reasons behind the...

My friend and fellow housewife theologian, Dana Tuttle, is back to commemorate another Anne from the Tudor era. As we are about to come upon the anniversary of Anne Askew's execution, Dana ponders the implications of the gospel message for a housewife theologian. She began to wrestle with this idea...

[caption id="attachment_2178" align="alignleft" width="300"] Erik Jacobs for The New York Times[/caption] After our second 4 th of July party this week, Matt and I needed a little veg out time once we finally got all the kids to bed. So we cuddled on our big, round chair (aka the hot tub chair) and...

Seriously. I mean that in an endearing way. In fact, I hope I’m an idiot, and I think we need a lot more idiots in the church. So does Ted Kluck. I hosted my book review club this Monday evening at my house. This is where we all read whatever book we want and come together to review it. It doesn’t...

As I am reading through Esther with the help of Iain Duguid’s commentary, Esther & Ruth , I am finding myself struggling with these women. Comparing the first two chapters, it’s easy to over analyze a Vashti vs. Ruth scenario. Queen Vashti, a pagan, takes a very bold stand for human dignity. I...

This week my husband and I will be celebrating our 16 th wedding anniversary. So, like everyone does around their anniversary, I have been thinking back to the people we were when we said, “I do.” I was a mere 21 years of age, fresh out of college. It’s funny because I thought I was so “in love”—...

In my free time I have been doing one of my favorite activities, reading on the porch. But free time is something I kind of pilfer. You know, I’m a housewife, so me and the dog sneak out there ninja-style, hoping for 15 minutes before the next crisis hits. My companion on my last couple of missions...

There’s a catchy song out on the radio now called "Rumble and Sway" by Jammie N. Commons. The lyrics aren’t the most wholesome. He’s sizing up a woman and the chorus repeats: Don’t you tell me no truths, I want only your lies. As I heard him singing through the chorus, I thought about how true this...

Starr Meade, Comforting Hearts, Teaching Minds (P&R, 2013) I’ll just go ahead and sound like the bad Christian here. I often cringe at the thought of family devotions. It’s the combination of talking the kids into it, disciplining their behavior during (which majorly involves the skill to stay...