We’ve turned a story of a flesh-and-blood man standing apart from his own decaying culture into a nursery decoration. Brian Godawa has torn the cutesy pastel version of the Noah story off of the nursery wall in an attempt to help modern-day readers remember that Noah and his family were three dimensional people struggling to…

As the year’s odometer is about to roll over (hello, 2012!), you might be considering a new devotional. I’ve used a variety of devotional books over the years, and have even contributed to a couple. Most follow a pretty standard format: a Bible verse or inspirational thought, a short meditation on the passage, a prayer.…

Anyone who has ever read a book and then told a friend, “It stunk” or “Buy it!” is a book reviewer. Of course, book reviewing can be a lot more formal than a verbal “thumbs up/down”. I have long relied on thoughtful print/web book reviews to help me decide what to read as well as…

Eight years ago, my husband’s brother called to tell us that his fourth child had been born. The newest little Van Loon had Down Syndrome. My prayers for the family were born out of what I imagined that parents Dan and Maribeth were experiencing: the joy of getting to know the gift of their son…

I have a running list of all the stuff that is wrong about my life. The list includes everything from “Do I always have to be the one to unload the dishwasher?” to family worries to geopolitical concerns. I am nothing if not an equal-opportunity Eeyore. I think that’s why Caryn Dahlstrand Rivadeneira’s Grumble Hallelujah:…

The subtitle this 181-page spiritual memoir is “A Moody, Somewhat Self-Indulgent Introvert’s Search for Spiritual Community”, which perhaps may feel as though the book’s cover information gives away the proverbial ranch. But Reluctant Pilgrim (Fresh Air Books, 2010) is far more than the story of a solitude-craving woman’s church search. Author Emuna Okoro tells it…