Latest Posts
Grandfather and Grandson in Wendell Berry
Athey Keith is an unforgettable character—one of my favorites in all the fiction I’ve read. He appears in Wendell Berry’s Jayber Crow, where he is a remarkable example of being a grandfather. While few today could repeat the particulars of Athey’s grandparenting, we...
Wendell Berry: One of a Kind
When someone I meet mentions with affection the name Wendell Berry, my heart immediately thrills that we will have much in common, much to talk about. I realize now that no other contemporary name has such an effect on me. This might seem odd, especially given that...
Just Taking a Break
I love the distinction between ‘resting-from’ and ‘resting-in,’ well enunciated by Josef Pieper. The height of life is in activities of 'leisure' where we rest-in what matters most, a great example of which is contemplation. But simply resting-from our work (or even...
Reconsidering How We Make Conversation
A line in great literature can reveal us to ourselves. And while it might not be pleasant, it can be a great gift. Jane Austen has given me a point for self-examination regarding something at the heart of life—how I engage in conversation, and more specifically,...
Writing a Letter for Relationship
If my experience is any indication, personal letter writing has become rarer. The difference between emails and ‘real’ letters is surely related to why we write less even as it has become easier. But here I want to reflect on the importance and beauty of writing to...
Dealing with Weariness
When I was in graduate school, an elderly lady lived next door to our lively bachelor pad. We almost never saw her, but I remember once she said to us across the fence, “I’m tired. I’m just plain tired of life.” There was no mistaking the profound inner weariness in...
3 Reasons to Read Emma
I am an amateur in literature; there are many classics I am still discovering or just beginning to appreciate. But Jane Austen’s Emma captivated me from my first reading it in grad school. This summer my third time through solidified its unique place in my life: just...
Leave the Shallows: Read Together
Reading together can change everything. It is a great example of a rich activity for families and friends that should be ordinary but is quite rare. Fortunately, it is very much in our reach with real intentionality. A dramatic, negative phenomenon of our age is that...
Play More Games with Them–Now
Time is passing. Here is a simple, specific reminder to parents of younger children: play more games with them. Now. And especially in summer. I will not be melodramatic and say “before it’s too late.” Indeed, in the most important things we can always start again, at...
What a Woman Does in the Home
I have written on this before, and I plan to write on it again. I know I will never sufficiently understand it in this life, but I will keep trying. I’m talking about what a woman does in a home. Herein is a primordial revelation about how God loves us, and...
Front Porch Time: An American Tradition*
In The American Porch: An Informal History of an Informal Place, Michael Dolan shares that in researching his book he discovered that what he thought was as American as “a greenback dollar” turned out to be instantiated across epochs and cultures. What Dolan learned...
Speaking as Though I Received What I Say
There are a number of lines that I repeat often to my students as capturing root truths. One of them is this: always be attentive to what you can call ‘mine,’ or not. At the heart of reality is the truth that much can become ‘mine’ that was not originally mine. This...