Seven months after I moved to the Bay Area, I gave birth to my first child. I didn't have any family nearby, and since I was new to the area, I didn't have any close friends nearby either. I had quit my job to stay home with my baby, which I was very thankful to be able to do, but that also meant I was home alone all day, every day with no family ...
She whipped the car into the church parking lot, pulling the keys out of the ignition and shoving them into her purse. Being late was nothing new to us, but it usually came with some embarrassment. This time, however, being late was a relief. We hoped to slip in without having to talk with people or look them in the eye. We approached the door, ...
I have these memories of my mom making hand motions while singing San Toki, Toki Ya when I was sad or right before I went to sleep as a little girl. She would hold one arm up to symbolize a horizontal path and then prop her other hand behind it with her first two fingers peeking up from behind her first arm like a rabbit’s ears. She moved her ...
My mom wanted me to make plans for us to go see a play that afternoon. It was last minute, but it was a Saturday, and she was in a good mood. We’re going to have a good day, I thought. She sat on her bed, Bible in her lap, her beer next to her, and she told me to look up the phone number to the venue. I did what she asked and called, but I ...
I am afraid of the ocean. I’m afraid of its unpredictability, the way the waves never come in the same way, the way it changes so quickly with the tide and the wind. I’m afraid of its depth and its expanse, the way I can’t see down to its floor or see its end beyond the horizon. The ocean has moods that change with its color, and out of fear, I ...
Here at (in)courage, we often feel the longing for deeper connection. We praise God for the blessing of this online platform, this virtual table where we can pull up pixilated chairs from all corners of the globe and commune together over the bread of a shared story. Your responses here on the blog, your likes and hearts and comments on social ...
“Halloween is coming soon!” exclaimed my three-year-old one bright spring day in May. He was sporting his costume from the previous year as we began discussing the only trick-or-treating experience he had memory of and whether we would do the same again. He asked, "Is Daddy coming with us?" My son is a daddy's boy through and through, but that ...
“…she can laugh at the days to come.” Proverbs 31:25 (NIV) Hannah was a German exchange student my daughter and her friends befriended their junior year, and theirs was a friendship that didn't end when Hannah returned to Germany. We saw her when we lived there a year later, and again when she made a return trip to the States. Hannah’s English ...
It’s usually very subtle. I’ll be thinking about something I want to do or something I sense God calling me to, and all of the sudden this nauseating sense of insecurity will come over me. Out of the blue, uncertainty will sneak up on me and whisper: You can’t do that. You’re not good enough or competent enough. And many times I’ve gone along ...
I’m in the market for some flashcards. For the first time since starting school, Annalyn is struggling a bit with math. I’m grateful her teacher constantly communicates with us and let us know she needs to work on some math facts. With a little extra effort I’m sure Annalyn will be back up to par for third-grade math. Side note: I’m not so ...
