I almost burned down the house where I lived in college. This isn’t a figure of speech. Nor is it a clever expression of angst. This is a literal firemen-on-the-lawn fact. Throughout college I had an ongoing love affair with candles — specifically those that smelled like baked goods. One day I decided to light a candle while I worked. I couldn’t ...
Eighty percent of New Year’s resolutions are broken by February. I hear this statistic on an ordinary Friday at the end of an ordinary week. Already my hopes for 2019 feel a bit tarnished. I somehow continue to believe that with the turning of another calendar page everything will be made right. I will magically meet all my goals. I will overcome ...
The airport is crowded this morning. As I wait for my flight, I watch the parade of people. Disgruntled teenagers with caps pulled down over their eyes trailing behind determined parents. Bright-eyed couples holding hands with the honeymoon sun still on their faces. A group of grey-headed ladies in pink matching t-shirts laughing and exchanging ...
I stood in a park on a fall day, leaves a kaleidoscope of colors around me. I held a bouquet of burgundy flowers in front of my simple black dress, a gold ribbon wrapped around my waist. In front of me two of my dearest friends sniffled, trying to hold back a river of emotion, clutching the tissues they’d secretly wrapped around the stems of the ...
I’m part of a group of local writers who meets once a month. We call ourselves “Word Girls.” On a recent Friday, we watched the “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” documentary about Mr. Rogers. We showed up at the designated house in our pajamas. (I wore a t-shirt that said “Staying in is the new going out.”) We grazed among the snacks — popcorn and peanut ...
Today we're celebrating with (in)courage co-founder and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Holley Gerth as she releases a new devotional, Hope Your Heart Needs: 52 Encouraging Reminders of How God Cares for You. It's a little book that's big on encouragement. Enjoy the excerpt below — it will make you laugh, maybe cry, and want to find some ...
I’ve just come from a long walk in the summer heat (be thankful you can’t smell me). Mark and I were running errands, and he suddenly remembered he needed to be somewhere soon. I wanted to head home. When we got to the end of the main thoroughfare to our neighborhood I said, “You can drop me off at the corner, and I’ll walk. I was planning to ...
God, we remember that day seventeen years ago as if it just happened. We remember the moment we first heard the news. We remember the images blazing across our TV screen and hearts. We remember those we lost. We remember the heroes. Today, we remember all of this too: You are in control no matter what happens. Coming together makes us ...
We're celebrating today with (in)courage co-founder Holley Gerth as she releases a brand new (and beautiful) gift book with DaySpring -- Promises from God for Life's Hard Moments: Thoughts and Prayers When You Need Them Most. It's full of brief devotions and to-the-point prayers, both intended to help you connect with the Lord. Here's what Holley ...
I walk the aisles of an unfamiliar grocery store in the town where we’re vacationing. It’s strange how places have their scents — this one is sunscreen and mangoes and salt. I pass the deli and the cereal aisle, the ice cream coolers, and the rows of egg cartons. Eventually, I find the school supply section. It’s small, as if such pursuits in a ...
