2024 in Books

I can't imagine a world without books, a year without books, a week without books.

Books add light and color and sound to a black and white world. I wrote two full books in 2024, which will appear over the next year or two, and worked on a couple of others. Reading good books fuels my writing.

According to GoodReads I'm currently reading 23 books at once. That's not exactly true, of course. Some of them I've abandoned, with no plans to finish. Others are waiting for the topic to resurface or for space in my schedule. Piles of 3 or 4 books sit patiently on my bedside table, the table by the couch, the table by my favorite chair, or on my desk. 

I finished reading 41 books this year. The fact that I finished them meant each one held my attention until the end. I'm giving you my top 20 of the year here, loosely categorized. The six starred and bolded books below occupied my thoughts long after I finished reading them. These came up again and again in conversation or in the classroom as the things I learned from these authors worked their way into my way of seeing the world. 

I'm not making any money telling you about these books, and I haven't included sales links to any big box stores or online stores. I would encourage you to reach out to an independent bookseller (such as Hearts and Minds Books in the USA or Regent Bookstore or Three Hills Books in Canada) or buy directly from the publishers whenever possible. Not only do authors benefit more that way, but you also contribute to real human-to-human interaction.

Biography

Sisters of Sinai: How Two Lady Adventurers Discovered the Hidden Gospels, by Janet Martin Soskice (Vintage)

I attempted to go to Mt. Sinai this year multiple times. Each attempt ended unsuccessfully, but I haven't given up yet! In the meantime, Soskice's gripping story of twin sisters who traveled to Sinai in the 1800s multiple times put my troubles in perspective. 

A Burning in my Bones: The Authorized Biography of Eugene H. Peterson, by Winn Collier (Waterbrook)

Collier's biography of Eugene Peterson got me reading more in the vein of pastoral ministry, which was refreshing. I loved hearing more of Eugene's story! He was the translator of The Message, as well as a pastor and professor.

Fiction

According to Austin Carty (in The Pastor's Bookshelf--another great read this year!), fiction is important for those who speak and teach and write. I read 11 books in this category. Here are my top two:

**Andy Catlett: Early Travels, by Wendell Berry (Counterpoint)

This year I dove headlong into Wendell Berry's fiction. My favorite by far was Andy Catlett, which I found so endearing that I began working on my own memoir. Berry's fictional narrator is a man in his 70s who is looking back on his first solo trip to see both sets of grandparents. He reminisces about their way of life. The older we become, the more our memories capture an era that no longer exists.

Love Big, Be Well: Letters to a Small-Town Church, by Winn Collier (Eerdmans)

Collier's fictional letters from a pastor to his small-town congregation was similarly endearing. It reshaped my vision of what pastoral ministry ought to be.

Non-Fiction (Based on Sociological Research)

The Great DeChurching: Who's Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back? by Jim Davis and Michael Graham, with Ryan Burge (Zondervan)

The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness, by Jonathan Haidt (Penguin)

Neither Davis and Graham nor Haidt was fun to read. Both books are sobering, but both also offer hope for a way forward. I'm thankful for their careful research and analysis of our current moment.

Theological Reflection on Social Issues

Disarming Leviathan: Loving Your Christian Nationalist Neighbor, by Caleb Campbell (IVP)

Subversive Witness: Scripture's Call to Leverage Privilege, by Dominique DuBois Gilliard (Zondervan)

Both Campbell and Gilliard offer perceptive social commentary from a Christian perspective. Both seek to empower us to love our neighbors well, moving beyond stereotypes to loving action for the sake of others. Campbell shares practical strategies for bridging the divide in families and churches between those who consider themselves to be Christian nationalists and those who do not. Gilliard offers insightful readings of biblical texts to encourage readers to consider how we can work on behalf of others.

Old Testament Studies

The Ten Commandments: Monuments of Memory, Belief, and Inspiration, by Timothy S. Hogue (Cambridge)

Hogue's approach to the Ten Commandments differs from mine, but he made me think about them in new ways, which is saying something! I've spent over 10 years studying these texts, and now I'm looking at them from a new angle. While I don't buy his entire approach to the origins of the biblical text, I am eager to apply what I learned from him to new passages. Hogue sees Exodus 20 and its context functioning as a literary equivalent to a stone monument. His approach explains some of the anomalies of the biblical text. 

 

**Comfort in the Ashes: Explorations in the Book of Job to Support Trauma Survivors, by Michelle K. Keener (IVP)

Michelle Keener has a previous career as a novelist, but here makes her debut into the world of biblical studies. Having recently completed a PhD in Old Testament, Keener offers fresh perspective for those who have experienced trauma or who walk with those who have. Her book taught me much about trauma and helped me to see Job in a new light. I'm grateful for her work!

New Testament Studies

Finding God in Suffering: Journeying with Jesus and Scriptures, by Siu Fung Wu (Wipf & Stock)

For those who want to learn more from the global church, this is a good place to start. Wu offers thoughtful reflections on Romans interwoven with his own stories of suffering.

Reading Romans Backwards: A Gospel of Peace in the Midst of Empire, by Scot McKnight (Baylor)

McKnight's thesis is simple, but profound. He argues that the apostle Paul's exposition in his letter to the Romans should be understood in light of his exhortation in the second half of the book. To pay attention to the actions and attitudes he wants to see on display in the church (via chapters 12-16 of Romans) is the key to unlocking his message in the first eleven chapters of the book. Brilliant! 

The Mary We Forgot: What the Apostle to the Apostles Teaches the Church Today, by Jennifer Powell McNutt (Brazos)

McNutt unveils baseless rumors about Mary Magdalene and examines more closely what the Bible actually says about her. The book is engaging and illuminating.

**Misreading Scripture through Individualist Eyes: Patronage, Honor, and Shame in the Biblical World, by E. Randolph Richards and Richard James (IVP)

This illuminating look at culture in the first century would be great as a textbook for undergraduate students (or even high school students), but I would recommend it for laypeople as well who want to understand the Bible better. I plan to assign it to my Biola students next year for a class on Bible Backgrounds. It's a shorter and more accessible introduction to the same concepts treated in deSilva (below). In my view, it's stronger than Richards' previous volume, Misreading Scripture through Western Eyes.

Textbooks

Honor, Patronage, Kinship, and Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture, by David A. deSilva (IVP)

This is a solid introduction to four central pillars of first-century culture. I read it with my students earlier this year and found it very helpful. The length is a bit daunting for undergraduates, so I plan to assign Richards next year (above), but deSilva would work well for graduate students. He's a well-respected scholar and great communicator.

How to Study the Bible's Use of the Bible: Seven Hermeneutical Choices for the Old and New Testaments, by Matthew S. Harmon and Gary Edward Schnittjer (Zondervan)

Harmon and Schnittjer advance the study of quotations and allusions in the Bible by identifying key hermeneutical choices an interpreter must make as they wrestle with the text. This is not an introductory textbook, but will be a wonderful resource for advanced students.

Theology

My biggest surprise this year were these captivating works of theology. I often find it hard to vibe with theology books because I'm prefer to study particular biblical texts. However, each of these were truly illuminating and have stayed with me since I read them.

**Perfect in Weakness: Disability and Human Flourishing in the New Creation, by Maja I. Whitaker (Baylor)

Whitaker explores the possibility of diverse embodiment in the new creation. Her thesis is intriguing and she does an admirable job of considering all the angles. 

***Becoming Friends of Time: Disability, Timefullness, and Gentle Discipleship, by John Swinton (Baylor)

Swinton helped me to see how our society values speed, and how our obsession with efficiency prevents us from walking well with those who are aging or disabled. Slowing down to walk with those who cannot keep up the pace is an essential discipleship practice.

***Churches and the Crisis of Decline: A Hopeful, Practical Ecclesiology for a Secular Age, by Andrew Root (Baker)

Root was an absolute delight to read. I couldn't put the book down and finished it in a single weekend. He offers a profound vision for the church as a community of those who gather to wait for the transcendent God to break into our world and do what none of us can do for ourselves. So many churches try to grow by employing market-savvy business strategies, but our true purpose is to bear witness to a God who stands outside of our systems. You'll see echoes of his work throughout my new book, which comes out in 2025 (Becoming God's Family: Why the Church Still Matters).

Christmas: The Season of Life and Light, by Emily Hunter McGowin (IVP)

McGowin's work on Christmas is deep but engaging. She avoids syrupy sentimentalism on the one hand and a war-on-Christmas on the other hand, helping readers to appreciate the significance behind our beloved traditions. She stares into the darkness of our world and illuminates it with the good news of the incarnation. Highly recommended!

When I'm not reading, I'm usually writing. If you'd like to see a list of the books I've written, check out the home page of my blog here. If you've read this far, you are likely a reader, too. What's the best book you read in 2024? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below!

2023 in Books

I set a goal to read 40 books in 2023. I only completed 37 (though I started a dozen more . . . some of them abandoned, some still in progress). Here is the breakdown by category of those I finished, with all the details on GoodReads:

• 9 memoir 
• 1 poetry
• 5 fiction
• 12 Biblical studies
• 7 practical theology / ministry
• 2 academic theology
• 1 self-help

If you decide to order a copy of any of these books, may I recommend my favorite bookstores? Hearts and Minds Books takes orders and ships anywhere in the US. Three Hills Books in Alberta and Regent College Bookstore in B.C. are great sources for books in Canada. I'm not making commission on the sales of any of these books, but I believe in small, well-curated bookstores!

The surprising blessing for me this year was memoir. I loved reading about people's diverse experiences of the world: from the deep South to the South Side of Chicago, and from the rust belt to the White House, and from Down Under to Ethiopia. All ten of these were worthwhile (or I wouldn't have finished them), but two that were especially excellent were Beth Moore's and Esau McCaulley's. 

• 
  Beth Moore, All My Knotted-Up Life
• Esau McCaulley, How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Family's Story of Hope and Survival in the American South
  
• J. D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
• Michelle Obama, Becoming
• David Bennett, A War of Loves: The Unexpected Story of a Gay Activist Discovering Jesus
• Wendy Widder, Every Road Goes Somewhere: A Memoir about Calling
• Tripp Johnston, Soul Brothers: Two Men, Two Worlds, One Purpose (an encouraging story about true partnership and friendship in cross-cultural missions)
• Joan Didion, A Year of Magical Thinking (about grief)
• Octavio J. Esqueda and Benjamin D. Espinoza, eds., The Hispanic Faculty Experience (about Latino/a faculty experiences in Christian higher ed)

The single book of poetry I read was breathtaking. I highly recommend Amanda Gorman, Call Us What We Carry. Gorman is a wizard with words, wise beyond her years. Highly recommended.

Most of the biblical studies books I read this year related to gender issues because of a paper I was writing. Each one of these was helpful, with a special shout out to Carolyn Custis James' Malestrom, which constructively answers one of today's most pressing questions: What does it look like to embrace manhood without perpetuating the toxic versions that have left so much hurt in their wake? Karen González's book on immigration was also very accessible and insightful. Every one of these was worth my time:

• Carolyn Custis James, Malestrom: How Jesus Dismantles Patriarchy and Defines Manhood 
• Susan Hylen, Finding Phoebe: What New Testament Women Were Really Like
• Celina Durgin and Dru Johnson, The Biblical World of Gender: The Daily Lives of Ancient Men and Women
• Hilary Lipka and Bruce Wells, Sexuality and Law in the Torah
• Wilda Gafney, Daughters of Miriam: Women Prophets in Ancient Israel
• Nijay Gupta, Tell Her Story: How Women Taught, Led, and Ministered in the Early Church
• Karen González, The God Who Sees: Immigrants, the Bible, and the Journey to Belong
  
• Matthew Theissen, A Jewish Paul: The Messiah's Herald to the Gentiles
• Walter Bruggemann, Delivered Out of Empire: Pivotal Moments in the Book of Exodus
• Ray Lubeck, Reading the Bible for a Change (2nd edition)

In the category of practical theology I read books on prayer, discernment, purity culture, and social commentary. My favorite was Dennis Edwards' new book on humility, which offers crisp insights on why the pursuit of humility pairs well with the pursuit of justice. I blogged about it here.

• Dennis Edwards, Humility Illuminated: The Biblical Path Back to Christian Character
• Russell Moore, Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America
• Tyler Staton, Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools
• Rob Dixon, Together in Ministry: Women and Men in Flourishing Partnerships

The best academic book I read in theology was without a doubt Christa McKirland's God's Provision, Humanity's Need: The Gift of Our Dependence. In this adaptation of her doctoral dissertation, Christa makes a strong case that to experience flourishing, humans must enter into a relationship with God. That is, we need God. We are dependent on the God who made us. In the Western-European world, which values independence, self-sufficiency, and autonomy, Christa brings us back to the truth about ourselves and the beauty of dependency.

I also released two books myself this year. Being God's Image is a prequel to Bearing God's Name (IVP 2019). They can be read in either order. One highlight this year was recording the audiobook myself! The Illustrated Psalms in Hebrew has been four years in the making and is my first book coauthored with one of my students. 

• Being God's Image: Why Creation Still Matters (IVP) is a book that explores what it means to be human. In a nutshell, I claim that every human being is the image of God, and that our status as God's image was not lost or diminished at the Fall. Our vocation as stewards of creation opens up a whole host of creative and collaborative possibilities that extend into the new creation. A few highlights in its first 6 months in the world: Being God's Image was a finalist for the IVP Reader's Choice awards. The Englewood Review of Books recognized it as one of the Best Books of 2023. The Holy Post Podcast chose it for their book club, and it made the bestselling new releases list in September for the Evangelical Christian Publishing Association. I blogged about it here.
• Illustrated Psalms in Hebrew (GlossaHouse) is a co-authored project with R. Mark Reasoner that pairs the entire Hebrew book of Psalms with beautiful illustrations and my own English translation. If you're learning Hebrew and want to incorporate daily language practice in your devotional life, this book is for you. I blogged about it here.

I also wrote a book this year. It will be a while before it hits the shelves, but Oscar Baldelomar and I co-authored the first draft of a book on Scripture and Multicultural Identities. It's aimed at youth pastors, high school teachers, and parents of minority and multicultural families to help adolescents navigate their ethnic identities in light of Scripture. I'm excited about this project!

In the new year, I plan to read more books about Exodus as well as books about the church--especially recent works that explain trends in church attendance and participation. I'll be continuing to work on my commentary on Exodus for Baker Academic as well as a book for IVP on why the church still matters. 

Since I enjoyed memoir so much this year, do you have any others to recommend? 

I'd also love to read another book of poetry. Do you have a favorite that's a must read? Let me know in the comments below.

Here's to another great year of reading and writing!

The December Reckoning

I can't shake the melancholy this December. Life has cast its shadow over all the parties. It's not all somber, of course, but the moments of delight are framed by life as it really is--budget constraints, colleagues losing their jobs, family tension and even estrangement, the stress of year-end deadlines. Underneath it all are layers of memories because December has a way of piling on.

On December 10th, 1999, Daniel and I went to a routine ultrasound, excited to see our baby for the first time. We had told every living soul of our joy that we were expecting. What we weren't expecting was the absence of a heartbeat. The stillness in my womb chilled us that Christmas. The songs seemed hollow, offensive even. We grieved deeply.

Every December I think of that baby, our baby, no longer living.

On December 10th, 2002, Daniel and I arrived with our toddler in the Philippines. We had sold most of our worldly goods and said our goodbyes, intending to settle indefinitely among an ethnic group that needed to hear the good news about Jesus. We experienced Christmas as outsiders that year, observers to traditions and families and friendships not yet our own. It was a bleak month, that stretched us to capacity. Things didn't go as planned. We only stayed 28 months, far short of the decades we expected. We left without accomplishing what we intended to do. God seemed so silent.

Every December I think of the pain of leaving and starting over and leaving again.

On December 10th, 2019, InterVarsity Press released my book. Bearing God's Name is four years old now. It's been a joy to see these ideas catch people's imaginations around the world. My parents met us in Portland to celebrate. We didn't know it then, but it was our last Christmas together. The pandemic that ravaged the world and ruined Christmas in 2020 also managed to ruin Christmas in 2021. By 2022, the damage had been done; my parents were divorced.

And so I sit here this December, trying to embrace the season, but finding it complicated. December will never be what it was. The ornaments on our tree that recall happier seasons are tinged with the color of grief. It's not that I mind the tree or the lights, the concerts and the cookies. I welcome them all with open arms, as long as they don't force me to be glib. Life is far richer and more rewarding than I anticipated, but also far more painful.

December is the month that beckons us to take stock of our year, of our life. It's the reckoning of what we've done and who we've loved. We find out who our friends and family are and what we've lost along the way. Decorations mark time, evoking both nostalgia and change.

I don't know what this month holds for each of you, but I expect it's complicated.

A certain chair may be empty this year.

A certain song will bring you to tears.

A certain smell tugs your heart down memory lane.

This year I'm taking comfort in the gritty realities of Advent. Christ's birth followed a long season of agonized waiting in which life did not go as planned. As we await his return, is it any wonder that we bear both joy and sorrow, delight and pain? The hope that undergirds us is the same hope that carried the Israelites through their years of exile and sustained them under oppressive Roman rule. 

Christmas is not the story of an upwardly mobile businessman who crushed his sales targets and earned the Employee-of-the-Year Award. It's not the story of a rich girl who got everything on her Amazon wish list. It's not even the family in matching outfits with every hair in place for the annual photo.

Christmas is about a poor family on the margins under heavy taxation forced to travel at an inconvenient time. It's about the unlikely visitors who showed up to celebrate their son's birth and about their flight to Egypt in fear of their lives. If my community feels overshadowed or fraught with contradictions, we're well positioned to appreciate Christmas. It's not, and never was, picture perfect. 

December is a season to ponder the surprising work of God through an improbable cast of characters. It's a reckoning of sorts, a taking stock of what's what, a waiting for what comes next, and a gladness that none of it depends on me.

Review of Edwards, Humility Illuminated

 

Humility Illuminated: The Biblical Path Back to Christian Character by Dennis R. Edwards

I wouldn't trust just anyone to write a book on humility. As a woman, I've heard too many powerful leaders advocate for submission or humility or silence--for others--without embodying those qualities themselves. Dr. Edwards is different. He had already earned my respect as a peaceable and humble leader who lifts up those around him. During his years of experience in both pastoral ministry and academic service he has cultivated hard-earned wisdom.

One of his most unique contributions to this topic is that Dr. Edwards is sensitive to power dynamics that affect women and minorities and he's careful to help us see that humility does not mean passivity in the face of injustice. I'm grateful for his work!

Here are some of my favorite lines in the book:

"Without humility there is no justice" (7).

"Humility fosters collaboration, which can energize us to find solutions to problems" (17).

"Humility does not mean a lack of assertiveness or a rejection of firm truth-telling" (67).

"True humility...does not ignore or accept oppression, but instead seeks human flourishing by eliminating injustice through self-sacrificial love" (156).

"Humble people are justifiably angry toward evil because they are attuned to injustice, and they also understand that dismantling unjust systems does not contradict but is a consequence of humility. Because humility is yielding to God and committing to peacemaking, it cannot equate to passivity. Marginalized people embody humility by focusing on the pain and alienation of others--not just their own -- and joining in solidarity with the disinherited for the purpose of justice" (161).

View all my reviews

New Book Announcement: Illustrated Psalms in Hebrew

I'm delighted to share my latest publication with you: Illustrated Psalms in Hebrew from GlossaHouse! I began work on this volume in 2019, and the road to completion was long and winding, but I am truly delighted with how it has turned out. One of my students, R. Mark Reasoner Jr, caught a vision for this project and devoted his summer to seeing it across the finish line. His energy and devotion to the project made him an ideal co-author.

We've provided the full Hebrew text of the book of Psalms in large-print format in a way that preserves the genius of Hebrew parallelism along with beautiful images for reflection by Keith Neely, which Mark recombined and adapted for a rich reading experience. At the bottom of each page is my own English translation of that psalm. 

If you've been tracking with me for a while, you know that I produced the Exodus volume for this series back in 2017. That volume is more like a graphic novel, while this one presents each psalm as a whole with companion images.

Who will want to use this volume?

Mark Reasoner and Carmen Imes
with Illustrated Psalms in Hebrew

• Fluent Hebrew readers who want to meditate on the Psalms
• Hebrew-speaking families who want to incorporate the Psalms into family devotions
• Those learning Hebrew who want to practice reading the Psalms
• Professors who want to incorporate regular reading or chanting of the Psalms in class

We've included the Hebrew accent marks for those who want to chant the Psalms. The collection will be available as a single volume with all 150 Psalms or as a two volume set to make it more affordable for students (Psalm 1-72 and Psalm 73-150). I'll add links when those become available.

If you are heading to the annual meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society or the Society of Biblical Literature, you can purchase a copy at the GlossaHouse booth. But why wait? You can order now and save room in your suitcase for other treasures.

Companion Videos for 'Being God's Image'!

Two weeks from today, my new video course on Being God's Image: Why Creation Still Matters is launching with Seminary Now. We've filmed a video to go with each chapter of the book. Some of the content overlaps with the book, but in each video I extend that content to include new illustrations or applications.

10 chapters -- 10 videos -- about 10 minutes each

Audiobook available here

It's the kind of resource that makes it easy to lead a group through the book. The videos work with or without the book. If you've already read Being God's Image, these videos will reinforce what you've read and offer new things to think about. If you're not a reader, the videos will give you some of the most important content. (But also, you non-readers, did you know that I narrated the audiobook?)

Being God's Image explores what the Bible says about what it means to be human. Laying a foundation from the early chapters of Genesis, I explore implications for a host of topics:

What's wrong with the way many Christians read Genesis 1?

What relevance does Genesis 1-2 have for debates about gender roles?

Can the image of God help us with questions about abortion or assisted suicide? 

Where is hope hiding in Genesis 3? 

What can we learn from Jesus' ministry about being human?

How does pornography inhibit human flourishing?

How is death a blessing? 

Should we be worried about artificial intelligence?

How has the church failed people with disabilities?

What does skateboarding have to do with the church? 

Why does creation still matter? Isn't the whole world gonna burn?

All this and more is included in my course on the image of God.

Watch the trailer for my new course on Being God's Image here.

Seminary Now is a subscription-based platform with streaming content from some of my favorite and most trusted colleagues in the areas of Old Testament, New Testament, Church Ministry, and more. If you sign up, you'll have immediate access to ALL of the courses, including videos by Esau McCaulley, John Walton, Ruth Haley Barton, Sandra Richter, David deSilva, Brenda Salter McNeil, Craig Keener, Richard Middleton, Ruth Padilla DeBorst, Derwin Gray, Lynn Cohick, Tish Harrison Warren, Scot McKnight, and MORE! You'll also have access to my course on Bearing God's Name (2020). 

Best of all, if you register at Seminary Now, you can view the first three lessons of my new course FREE!

If you're a Seminary Now subscriber, comment below with your favorite courses. My favorites are Sandra Richter's Stewards of Eden and Ruth Haley Barton's Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership.

Celebrating 25 Years!

Twenty-five years ago today, I was surprised that I didn't float down the aisle. A wedding seemed like it ought to be the dreamiest day, but when the time came, my Dad and I simply put one foot in front of the other as we made our way toward the front of the church, toward the man who would soon become my life partner. Walking felt so ordinary.

Our Wedding at Third Christian Reformed Church
in Denver, Colorado. June 27, 1998

Don't get me wrong -- the dress and the music and the flowers and the dear friends and family who had gathered were nothing but ordinary. It was our wedding! But as I look back, that ordinary walk down the aisle toward a life filled with ordinary moments seems fitting.

In the classic film, Fiddler on the Roof, when Tevye and Golde reached this milestone, Tevye's urgent question to his wife of 25 years was "Do you love me?" After all, their marriage was arranged, so the question of affection had been irrelevant on their wedding day. But now he wonders..."Do you love me?"

Golde's answer canvases the ordinary days they have shared, wondering whether the question is even relevant:

For twenty-five years I've washed your clothes
Cooked your meals, cleaned your house
Given you children, milked the cow
After twenty-five years, why talk about love right now?

For twenty-five years I've lived with him
Fought him, starved with him
Twenty-five years my bed is his
If that's not love, what is?

But that's the thing about love. It proves itself in ordinary ways. Golde is right -- cooking and cleaning and childbearing and gathering food -- these are the building blocks of a life together. Love is not just a feeling of affection but a commitment to someone else's flourishing.

Our marriage has not been ordinary in the sense of typical. We have moved fifteen times, lived in three countries, raised three children, and earned a certificate and four degrees between the two of us. Much of the love we've shared has come in the form of packing and unpacking and learning to pay bills in a new city or taxes in a new country. 

Our roles may seem unconventional. At the beginning of our marriage I did the laundry, the cooking, the shopping, and most of the childcare. Now our roles are reversed; I vacuum and help with dinner clean up while Daniel manages almost everything else, including most of the taxi-driving for our teenagers.

But I know this: Our partnership in life and ministry has been such a generous gift from God!

Do I love him? Absolutely! 

Does he love me? When I get home from work, I'm greeted by the smell of love: a healthy dinner cooking.

Dinner may seem ordinary, but it's the stuff of legend and of romance. Every day that I find clean socks in my drawers and milk in the fridge or flowers on the table, I don't even have to ask.

I know.

University of British Colombia

Ordinary faithfulness is what we signed up for. We celebrated 25 years of ordinary moments with an extra-ordinary cruise to Alaska. The stunning scenery and delicious food and quality service could hardly compare to the joy of experiencing it all together. 

Glacier Bay National Park

So now we go from glaciers and bears and mountain goats and sea otters back to ordinary -- doctor's appointments and bills to pay and emails to answer and dishes to wash.

Happy 25th Anniversary, Honey! I'm so glad to be spending my life with you. 

Here's to 25 more years of ordinary days ... together.