childhood
Joel Agee’s novel of childhood wonder and terror
Fantastical things surround six-year-olds everywhere.
A playful romp with God
Growing up, I never heard a word about God laughing, joking, or doing anything for fun.
by Debie Thomas
Mary Poppins returns to a world of economic insecurity
Can memories of childhood joy really make up for predatory lending and labor busting?
The yin and yang of being small
Children have unique needs for both freedom and protection.
The next monster
Stranger Things reassures us that the stories of the past can give us the courage to face whatever danger looms.
The crawl space
You were thrilled to enter the crawl space, but also frightened. There was a chance of snakes.
by Brian Doyle
God Help the Child, by Toni Morrison
In her 11th novel Toni Morrison returns to the foundation of most of her fiction: childhood and its traumatic effects.
reviewed by Amy Frykholm
The baseball life
When I was ten, baseball became the organizing principle of my life. The game taught me that success is rare and precious.
My father’s butcher shop: Lessons learned and unlearned
Working in the shop gave bone and muscle to my pastoral identity. But it also taught me to anesthetize anxiety with long hours, to work out of fear of failing.
Formative moments: Faith at an early age
The term theological education brings to mind formal study. But people's deepest
convictions about God and their deepest stirrings of faith are often
formed at an early age.