Have you started singing “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” yet? Admittedly, I’m a humming machine right now. The sights, sounds, and nostalgia of the holiday season have drawn me in, and my senses are celebrating from the simple pleasures. As I snuggle in my cozy blanket on the sofa, candles flicker on our kitchen table, twinkly white ...
In the middle of Aldi’s frozen food aisle, I did church. Right in between the tater tots and frozen peas, I almost missed it, but I’m so grateful I didn’t. I've spent the last few years studying the theology of hospitality, and I’ve begged the Holy Spirit to heighten my awareness on the topic. After four decades of following Him, I’m having my ...
I've been pounding on my piano keys a lot lately. Yes, pounding them hard, wrestling with sadness and questions and frustration. Creating beautiful music isn't my goal. His glory is the goal and praising Him in the middle of pain is my desire. I'm compelled to turn my worry into worship even when the enemy is trying to chase me down, but it's ...
Sometimes I forget. Sometimes in the midst of church life, I just do and forget the who. I forget the why and do not rest in His because. As I talk to people who have left the local church, I get it. It's easy to become disillusioned and frustrated, disconnected from unmet expectations, but regardless of the reason, my heart grieves. Scripture ...
Summer is in full swing, and I'm stuck finding the balance of being a fun, spontaneous, and carefree mom and struggling with the daily challenge to purposefully engage our children's hearts and minds amidst their expectation of total relaxation and lots of screen time. Yes, our kids have more free time on their hands, and I have lots of work ...
I don’t know if anyone’s ever fully prepared for the delicate and trying balancing act of launching our children into adulthood. As moms, we spend the first eighteen years of our kids’ lives bouncing between daily, mundane mothering tasks and attempting to lay for them a solid spiritual, emotional, and social foundation. Then, in the largest feat ...
Food, glorious food. Whenever I talk to people about why they have a hard time inviting people over, notably, someone always mentions food. Do any of these thoughts sound familiar? - I don’t know what to serve. - I’m not a good cook. - What if they don’t like what I make? - How will I ever have it all ready at the same time? - It’s just ...
I wandered through my church lobby on a quest for another cup of morning coffee. It always helps when I have a mission, so I walk with purpose. It doesn’t allow me to feel so alone in the crowd. It’s not like me, this feeling of isolation. Emotionally and socially, I’ve been an island, with occasional jaunts over to the mainland. I pour my ...
It started in such a small way. One evening after football practice, our teen boys barged through the door. I could smell them before I could hear them (think "rotten potato buried in the bottom of your pantry" kind of odor), and they announced that one or two new football friends were joining us for dinner. Without warning, one guy became two, ...
We couldn’t find him anywhere — my nephew, whom I see every day. Our precious blessing with an extra chromosome had wandered deep in the woods. Ten minutes, thirty, forty-five minutes turned to sixty. The minutes merged together as emotions swirled, and desperation descended. Dozens of friends rallied together — searching, shouting, turning ...
