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 ...
I’ve had a week filled with awkward. It happens. First, I went to a women’s event where I hardly knew anyone. I stood in the foyer picking at a plate of pasta while my heart almost pounded out of my chest. I attempted to make small talk. I went to the bathroom three times in forty-five minutes just to hide. I occasionally stared at my phone so ...
I licked the peanut butter frosting around the entire rim of a cookie sandwich. I did this in the car, shamelessly, at a stoplight on my way home from a prayer meeting. Because I am human. And this is the sort of thing humans, even when they know better, sometimes do. I am not advocating this behavior. Someone once told me if you can’t be an ...
I attend a tea party in the fellowship hall of a small town church about an hour from my home. This is where my parents had their wedding reception, where my grandparents had their fiftieth anniversary party, where my great-grandparents held hands in the pews. Today the tables are covered in white linen and each place setting includes a vintage ...
