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 ...
Stowed away in the attic for decades, dust floats from the diary that I kept from ages fourteen to eighteen. Paging through memories of old, I'm instantly transported to pivotal successes that were so quickly forgotten, while years of insecurity surfaced in a heartbeat. I need to lose weight and stop snacking. I need to get more organized for ...
"Oh Mom, I just love this magical time of year. It's so cozy with lights, hot chocolate, movies and our special family traditions!" My heart warmed as I agreed with our youngest daughter. So when our Sunday school moderator asked me as their Mentor Mom, "How do you keep the Christmas story fresh for your children?" I knew he didn't mean, ...
Our house sits in the middle of some fairly dense woods. We call it “The Homestead” and with five children, it’s offered up a haven for every kind of fort building activities you can imagine over the years. One afternoon, our son called to me, “Mom, we can’t find Emma. She was just here.” She’s my baby, our fifth child, so I didn’t bat an eye. ...
