In 2008 a young suburban family of four set out to consume everything according to four rules: local, used, homegrown, and homemade. Year of Plenty tells the story of that year and offers a reflection on the intersections of their Christian faith, their life as pastors, and their experiences at the margins of consumer culture....

He would always miss my class on a Friday. At first this weekly habit annoyed me and then one day he invited me to visit his nursery in the forest. He wanted to show me how to comb a mountain for a wild orchid....

When I was in high school, I had to borrow money every once in a long while, but often it was the other way around. On one occasion, I remember handing out a $5 bill to buy a friend’s burger. I expected it back. After a few days, I didn’t see it come my way, so I reminded him....

Lent corresponds with my busiest weeks at work all year. After days of long hours answering phones, expediting everything from memos to conference calls, working through lunch to meet timelines and demands, I’m spent. And tired. And agitated. And irritable. Inevitably, I hurt people and feel hurt by them, even it’s unintentional....