I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13:34-35 (CSB) Every month of 2020, we will feature the Love Over All theme verse on the first Sunday of the month. We love everything about Love Over All (read ...
One of my favorite things to do when I’m running is to listen and watch for birds. I have often witnessed birds take a few steps across the trail, then run and begin to flap their wings, and eventually take flight. It’s a beautiful process to watch them uniquely walk, run, and then soar to new heights. After my husband’s death from cancer, a ...
Recently, three friends and I joined thousands of buyers and sellers at the Atlanta International Gift and Home Furnishings Market, one of the world’s largest wholesale shows. We received guest passes, and although our name badges identified us as exhibitors, really we were gawkers, mostly-window shoppers, and grown women acting as giddy as kids in ...
Driving through carpool line, Andrew held his bag of Valentine's treats in his lap. I felt awful knowing that what he had to give to his classmates wasn't nearly as cute and fun as what he would receive. But as we inched closer to the front of the school, Andrew asked when they’d be passing out candy in class. He didn't care that his treats ...
She was standing in front of the bouquets of flowers, with a shopping basket in one hand, purse slung across her shoulder, and her hair tired from a long day at the office. It was rush hour, when women from all walks of life intersected at Trader Joe’s to pick up food for dinner. “Hard to decide what to pick, huh?” I turned to smile, ...
Penny was the runt, the smallest kid on the playground in a new place to call home. We had landed in this unfamiliar Michigan town just three days prior, both grieving over what we lost and longing for what we knew. But this day at the playground promised to bring reprieve for our hurting hearts. We got there early and planted ourselves close to ...
I recently felt the familiar rise of anxiety. Tension crawling up the back up my neck. Mind racing. Hands slightly shaky. I couldn’t catch a deep breath no matter how much air I filled my lungs with. I don’t know if you’ve ever had this experience, but it’s like coffee jitters in your heart even when there’s zero caffeine pulsing through your ...
Taste and see that the Lord is good. Psalm 34:8 (CSB) I've been looking for goodness — for that which is sweet, good for the soul, joyful, and light — for God's goodness in everyday, ordinary places. In a new month of the first new year of a new decade, with days full of possibilities and hope, it only seems right to be on the lookout for ...
We always thank God for all of you, making mention of you constantly in our prayers. We recall, in the presence of our God and Father, your work produced by faith, your labor motivated by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 (CSB) All of 1 Thessalonians 1 is absolutely beautiful. I read it ...
Most nights I lay awake in bed rehearsing different conversations I had throughout the day. I worry if I said or did the right thing. I calculate and rethink what I should or could have done. I wonder why someone didn’t text back. I toss and turn making plans to fix things tomorrow. Most mornings, my mind is running even before I open my eyes. ...
