You're very welcome! I so often feel a sense of kindred spirits with other introverts.

Dear LBH, My heart goes out to you. I want to assure you that you are not alone in what you're experiencing. I encourage you to read more posts on the blog I linked to in the post above (http://www.introvertedchurch.com/) so you can see that you are not alone and so you can develop strategies to cope with the challenges you've described. I also encourage you to read Adam McHugh's book which is linked to in the blog. I experience some of the same things you do, and I've been experiencing them all my life. It never goes away; it's an ongoing challenge to deal with. It is simply difficult to be an introvert in a world that values extraversion. My husband and others tell me that I bring depth and authenticity to relationships because of my introversion, which is lovely to hear, but there are days I just simply wish I could be more extraverted. God's blessings to you as you navigate this challenge and wrestle with accepting the deep truth that God made you this way for a purpose and God loves you just the way you are.

Cathy and Cameron, thanks for your kind words. I appreciate very much hearing that my posts have been helpful to you. Cathy, discussion on blog posts is supposed to be casual and conversational, so I didn't even notice the punctuation in your response!

Mark, thanks for writing. I've been in many prayer groups with a majority of women like you have. I appreciate your insight that the issue may relate to men as "doers." I read a lovely book once about praying while you walk called Long Wandering Prayer by David Hansen. I wonder if prayer forms that have a physical component would be more attractive to men. Another option with a physical focus that comes to mind is fasting. When I did the interviews for my fasting book, I came across quite a few men who fast, and fasting leads natural into prayer. Hmmm, I'll be thinking about your question.

I love your notion of innkeepers rather than gatekeepers. I have always resisted the notion (which I am supposed to enforce as a Presbyterian minister) that only baptized people are welcome at communion. My son married a Japanese woman who was raised Buddhist. Soon after their marriage, she got a job in a Lutheran church daycare center. She wanted to attend the service there to see what it was like, so my husband and I accompanied her. The bulletin said clearly that only baptized people should go forward for communion, but mercifully neither she nor I saw those words until later. She had met the minister only once before the service, and when he served communion to her, he used her name. I cried at the beauty of his welcome to her.

Margie, thank you so much for writing. I'm so sorry I sounded as if I didn't think medication is a good idea for people with depression. In the talk I gave, I began by describing my own experience with depression. In fact, I've talked about it publicly enough that I've had people tell me how freeing it is to hear a Christian minister talking about depression honestly. My concern is that the sadness of normal grief is going to be labeled as depression in the upcoming DSM-5, which medicalizes the common ups and downs of sadness during mourning. When I posted the link on Facebook to this blog post, one of my friends who works in a hospice said that her observation is that when people aren't supported when they grieve, their grief can become depression. That was a helpful thought. Thanks for speaking up about the benefits of medication for depression. You're so right.

Brett, I loved hearing that you are able to combine work and art these days. What a gift. I'd love to hear more about how you combine the two and how you made it happen.

My heart goes out to you in the challenges of your journey. The piano lessons make so much sense, though, as they represent a movement into creativity and also the connection with your childhood and your father. May God guide your next steps.