When I'm talking with friends about a book I enjoyed, I sometimes catch myself sheepishly confessing, "Well, I listened to it," as if listening didn't count as reading. I still believe that reading a printed copy of a book, pen in hand, is the most satisfying and enriching reading experience and that reading a book … Continue reading Five (Plus Five) Favorite Audible Narrators
The kingdom of God, Christ said, “is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how” (Mark 4:26-29). The phrase “he knows not how” troubles me; I want results. I long to see my loved ones … Continue reading When Faith Seems Fruitless: A Lesson from Frog and Toad
Some say it started with a hashtag. It took off in the Twitterverse and inspired songs by punk rockers Amen and pop phenomenon Demi Lovato. The punchy one-liner even found its way into a successful ad series for the ever-delectable Reese's peanut butter cup, in which a snarky male voiceover extols Reese's with in-your-face bravado, … Continue reading Not-Sorry’s Not Worth It, but Sorry-Plus Is a Beautiful Move
Humility is a beautiful, elusive quality, a virtue that's fallen completely out of fashion. Google its definition and you can ponder a graph showing the word's diminishing use in our language from 1885 to today. A century ago, we talked a good deal about humility. Today, not so much. Because I read to young children … Continue reading Counteracting the Big Me with Two Frogs and a Toad
