Zechariah’s question haunts me. After he was told about the imminent birth of his son–to be named John, the one who would go before and announce the Messiah’s mission here on earth–Zechariah asked the fateful question, “How can I be sure?” Clearly he did so in disbelief, because Gabriel responded authoritatively, with disciplinary consequence: “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of …

The holidays are fast approaching, and that means December 23 is coming again. It looms over me like a dark, menacing cloud just over my shoulder–bringing feelings of dread and wariness, threatening more. How will it feel this year? I wonder. Will the feelings be just as strong, but different? Or will they be achingly familiar, but not as strong? One …

I never expected this odd consequence of losing my son: I look for Robb everywhere. I’ve traveled across the United States and to several countries overseas since he died nearly four years ago, and everywhere I go–whether it’s around the world or down the street to run errands–I search for him. Constantly. It’s not rational. Of course it’s not. But what driving, covert force compels me to search for men …

Maddy loves to retrieve her tail. Yes, you read that correctly: she’s our (dingy, Ritalin-needing) labrador retriever. And one of her favorite objects to retrieve is her own tail. It drives Craig crazy (she doesn’t appear terribly intelligent while doing it, I must admit, though none of us who know Maddy would ever consider her highly intelligent anyway) but I find it …

A Christian’s testimony should be a fluid thing: If I’m truly growing and stretching and sometimes aching (resisting? resenting? admittedly rebelling sometimes too?) in the process, then my testimony should mirror the same struggle. Before Robb died, I would have shared that I was excited to be in a new place of ministry, and I was being challenged to grow into …

When I was young, I loved spring and hated autumn. My opinion was that the fall was all about death–the death of green leaves (actually, pretty much anything green, including cars which are soon covered by a layer of grey grit); the death of flowers and blooming bushes; the death of nice weather; the death of daylight (well, I do exaggerate a bit, but it …