When my brother and I scrambled around looking for lost objects, my mom (like mothers around the globe) would say, "Go back to where you had it last." We'd trudge back to the kitchen and find our homework in the fridge next to the milk. Or we'd sheepishly discover our keys still in the front door lock. Or when we got to the porch, we'd remember that after the water fight we'd gone to the fort, where the missing shoe was waiting for us. I think of this when I hear people say that they used to be so certain of God's calling or guidance, but they're going through a…

Every Memorial Day, soldiers, veterans and military families try to remind the nation of the holiday's meaning. As fewer Americans enter into military service, though, the significance grows hazy in the midst of sales, parties and the unofficial start to summer.  As the wife, daughter and granddaughter of men who served, my heart breaks a little over the forgotten sacrifices so many made. This year, however, I've been thinking of broader implications of this type of amnesia. Have we lost our ability to memorialize? Have we forgotten how to remember? 0

Angelina Jolie has become rich, famous and popular for being an archetype of female sexuality. Tim Tebow has been an exceptional, celebrated athelete since high school. But for both of these superstars, circumstances have changed. I've been thinking a lot about how circumstances shape our identities, and how changes in events influence our identities. For 5 years, my husband and I have struggled with infertility. Strike that–for 5 years, we struggled with infertility. In a breathtaking blessing straight from the Author of Life, we're pregnant. I expected the morning sickness, and the nervousness, the parties and the shopping. But I didn't see the adjustment to identity coming. 0

Go to a women's ministry conference, and you're likely to hear at least one breakout session on mentoring. Today's young Christian women yearn for relationships with older women. On the other end, many mature Christian women have so much to offer younger women. So why does the win-win setup so often end in a big fail? 0

Pope Benedict XVI announced today that he'll be retiring after eight years. He'll be the first pope to retire in almost six hundred years, and the Catholic community is examining repercussions of the historic announcement. 0

In both England and America, slavery was brought down mainly by Christians…but not all of them. Christ-followers fought to wipe out infanticide in most parts of the world. At least some of them did. Christians–but not every Christian–fought against female circumcision half a century before the issue attracted larger attention. 0

New Year's Eve. All over the world tonight, people will gather to celebrate, watch the ball drop or, of course, make life-changing New Year's resolutions. By Valentine's day, though, most of those resolutions will be only guilt-producing memories. We're not what we want to be. 0

Yesterday was the third Sunday in Advent, the day when many churches around the world light the Joy candle. As tears streamed down faces, we sang and worshipped and tried to grasp Joyous expectation in the shadow of unspeakable horror. But this juxtaposition doesn't remove us from its meaning; it brings us closer. Immanuel–God with us–didn't come to an idyllic world. 0

The holiday season is a season of Full. Stomachs stretch with overindulgence; schedules burst with commitments; To Do lists overflow onto a second (or third) page. From Thanksgiving to New Year's, excess is king. In this crammed-in, over-the-top season of surplus, what your soul may need is a little emptiness. 0