In the early days, worn-out running shoes and a rickety double stroller held my sanity. Daily I tied up those laces like I was girding my flailing ability to mother. I knew no other way. I strapped the three-year-old in the front stroller seat, the two-year-old in the rear, and doled out an abundance of snacks and sippy cups. I prayed their wiggly ...
I was eleven when we moved from a rural town nestled in Amish Country, Pennsylvania with its roadside stands selling shoo-fly pie and fresh corn to New Jersey with its louder, more colorful everything. My dad was entering the Army, so we lived on base, our comings and goings marked by rising gates and armed guards. Because our August arrival found ...
The Bible features so many women who lived courageously despite unusual, difficult, or even frightening circumstances. From women who were called to step into leadership roles to women who had to rely on God’s daily provision for their needs, these heroes of the Bible can show us exactly how to lean into the strength of the Lord when our own isn’t ...
I bought myself flowers from Trader Joes last week. White hydrangeas, little yellow daisies, and long, green, leafy filler. I arranged the bouquets into a mason jar and instead of placing it by the kitchen sink or on the entry way table, I set them beside my bed. I’ve never done this before. Flowers aren’t cheap and die quickly. All three ...
"Though the mountains move and the hills shake, My love will not be removed from you and My covenant of peace will not be shaken," says your compassionate LORD. Isaiah 54:10 (HCSB) What are your mountains today? You know the ones. The job you had to tell your family you lost. The relationship that's not working even though you keep fervently ...
Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. Psalm 30:4-6 (NIV) My birthday is in the beginning of October, and the joy that this brings me is a little over-the-top. To have a ...
My Instagram feed was covered in wedding pictures this summer. It seems as though almost everyone I know got engaged then married in the same year. I got to attend some of these weddings, and it was a pleasure to watch my friends marry the people they love. Many of my friends who were married a few years ago are now getting pregnant and having ...
My heaving chest is a combustion engine blowing exhaust into the cold night air. I hyperventilate. A hand on my shoulder pushes a wet washcloth towards me to wipe my nose, eyes, and the vomit from my lips. My eyes squeeze shut tight causing more tears to spill down my cheeks. “I’m going to die,” I gasp. “My heart . . . it hurts. I can’t, I ...
When each of my sons was four, I volunteered to help with their group for our church’s summer vacation Bible school. I feel the need to tell you that this was like service to the Lord. I love my kids. If you and I were real-life friends, I would love your kids — because I love you. But children as an indiscriminate demographic of people just aren’t ...
Here it comes again. That lump in my throat. That wet in my eyes. That red in my nose. Not here, not here, I tell myself. I'm a crier now. I've never considered myself a crier before, and no one would've ever called me that even a year ago, but grief is grief. Since recently losing a parent, crying has become a part of my life. Sometimes grief ...
