Suburban Shalom

seeking peace and purpose from my little neck of the suburbs

Better things

Here’s a confession. I’ve consumed more news in the past few weeks than one should take in over the course of a whole year. My 6th grader asked me what my screen time was last week, and I evaded that question with shame. Not only was my screen time astounding, but the nature of the content during … [Read more...]

Anna’s Messiah

We haven’t been in a church building since last March. As the weeks turn into months it feels especially strange and sad to not experience the sights and sounds of the Christmas season in a church setting. Our Sunday mornings at home have not gone well. We came out of the gate fairly strong last … [Read more...]

Driving by Advent

I was pouring a second cup of coffee yesterday morning when my oldest walked through the kitchen on a live call with her school Chromebook. I couldn’t see the screen but I could hear her classmate sharing about her Christmas plans. Teen: “I’m going to Florida to see my dad, but I’m nervous.” … [Read more...]

A deep breath

For the first ten years of my parenting I had a ritual before going to bed. I would quietly tiptoe into each of the girls’ rooms and make sure they were breathing. All I needed was a quick glimpse of the rise and fall of their little chests to satisfy myself. Is this strange? Probably. But I slept … [Read more...]