No matter how hard we try not to be, we are — each of us — storytellers. You don't have to have your name on the New York Times bestseller list. You don't need a blog or a web site. A stack of journals by your bed, and boxes more in your basement? Not required. No need to preach a sermon every …
Skin
Just a few minutes after 3 am, I reached out for you. The fingertips of my right hand found your t-shirt and I slid my right hand between your ribs and the mattress. Your lungs expanded for one, slow, even breath, filling my lifeline. I rolled to my right side and pulled up closer, fitting my …
The Truth About Christian Celebrity, Feeding the Machine, and “My Friend Big Wig”
Sorry to come back from one month away with all these words. And, with these particular words: People often ask me what I do. "I'm a writer," I tell them. "Really?" they ask. And then, "What do you write?" "I write about faith, and about race in the American church. Stuff like …
What I Learned From Brené Brown About Criticism
"I don't know how they do it," she said. We were having coffee — Vanessa, Michelle, and me — in the exact coffee shop where Michelle and I first met in real life. Of course, we were talking about writing. And about writers we admire. They're the ones who stick their necks out, take a stand, state …
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Platinum and Rubies
It happens nearly every time I’m in a crowd. The Jazz Festival downtown, a train platform, a concert or conference in a massive arena. When walking through crowds at the airport in Chicago, or San Antonio, or Denver, or New York, or wherever it is my travels have taken me I hear myself think, “All …
Better After: In Which I Discuss The Not Guilty Verdict
On the morning before the 4th of July, H and I planned a long day of bike riding. We loaded our bags with water and workout clothes and swimsuits and snacks, and headed out before the sun got too hot. We rode the trails and we talked about things I don't remember now. We rode our bikes halfway …
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