They sit in their carseats, next to one another holding hands. The palest caucasion skin of anyone in the family, enfolding the brown hand of his Hispanic little brother. “Are they both yours?” The woman meeting us for the first time asks. “Yes,” I reply, but she wants more. “How did you get that black haired one?” “Same way I got the blond haired one.”
We Celebrate Our Mistakes!
When it comes to mistakes, I tend to think I have a pretty healthy attitude on the subject. It’s okay, we all make mistakes, I tell my seven-year-old son when he accidentally falls off his pint-sized skateboard and skins his knee.
A Joyful Noise?
The banging of little metal cars against each other with the sounds of crashes made by young mouths. The shuffle of paper and the clack, clack, clack of a pile of markers being dumped out. An angry squeal by a younger sibling to ‘give it back!’
The Transiency of Memory and the Transfiguration
Our daughter lost her first tooth a few weeks ago. As I stared into that gaping hole in her mouth, I did the thing where you internally tear up and think, ‘where did my little baby go?’ in that wistful, nostalgic way. ‘It was only yesterday that I was holding her in my arms!’
Baptism Blessings at the Animal Shelter
After online and in-person trainings, and a firm understanding that we would not be adopting any pets of our own, we became certified Operation Kindness volunteers, the largest no kill shelter in north Texas.
Benchmarks for Christians
From time to time the Forma Facebook Group has a post from someone (clergy, youth minister, Christian educator) who is asking if anyone has a “rubric” for what children should learn in each year of “Sunday School” (or whatever you call it).
Witnesses in Jerusalem, Witnesses at Home
During my time serving as the communications director for a particular diocese in the Episcopal Church, I was often overwhelmed at the stories of grand ministry taking place all over the globe.
Grow at the Movies: Toy Story 4
A few months ago, I watched a documentary on Netflix called “The Pixar Story” which charted the rise of the animation studio through its first several movies and told the story of its partnership with and ultimate acquisition by Disney.
God’s Dream of Diversity: Celebrating Pentecost
My daughter has a book about unusual animal friendships. It hits every mark for cuteness: miniature animals, golden retrievers, implausible successe. Rather than being sticky sweet, though, the book offers a generosity of spirit
Countering Violence with Love
My children were not born knowing about guns.