I became familiar with dread as a child. I’d had a very difficult time adjusting when my family moved to Connecticut in the middle of my third-grade year. From then on, every time the calendar turned to August and the school year loomed ahead of me, a feeling grew in the pit of my stomach that I came to know as dread. It didn’t matter that I liked school or even that I made good grades. I dreaded...
I didn’t expect to experience postpartum depression after the birth of our third child. Having been through the newborn phase twice before, I wondered why this time was so much harder for me than the others. Disappointment and discouragement seemed to define those newborn weeks. I wasn’t performing like the strong and capable mother I thought I would be. Maybe you’ve been taken by surprise as...
Does your church have deacons? And if so, do you know who they are and what they do? If the answer to these questions is “Yes,” you’re in the minority. Few American churches have a thriving diaconal ministry. The average church website lists pastors, staff members, and directors who oversee various aspects of ministry, but rarely will you find deacons listed among the leadership. One popular...
There are coyotes in Pennsylvania. Not just upstate, rural, Potter County coyotes, but also a growing population of urban and suburban coyotes. In counties wiped clean of carnivores a hundred years ago or more, in the land of Walgreens and Wendy’s, coyotes have slunk in after dark and made themselves at home. And apparently (this defies every logic of the suburban mind), Pennsylvania coyotes...
I love map apps. As someone who grew up in an age of multi-fold road maps and had to stop at the gas station to get directions from the guy at the counter, I find it refreshing to have this technology. No more listening and writing down directions on the back of an envelope, remembering and turning at landmarks, and having to slow down not to miss important directional details. Gone are the days...
