encouragement
A Letter to My Daughter: What I Want You to See in the Mirror
May 17th
Dear Faith,
Today the last of the single digits find you: Happy 9th birthday, Faith.
You know I usually spend the weeks leading up to your birthday making jokes about skipping it, how you will not turn the next number. No way no how. You may or may not know I haven’t always relished you growing up.
But this year changed all that. This year, I am not mourning your birthday.
I still marvel at how the days pass slowly but the years fly by. Every mama knows all about that. But if this last year has taught me anything, it’s that nothing’s gained from More >
When You Want Others to Really Like You
May 15th
“I’m learning to care less about what people think and more about people, period.” Emily P. Freeman
My man is technically an engineer in the United States Air Force, although for this assignment he teaches at the United States Air Force Academy. He also has a PhD in something I can’t really pronounce. And just like that, y’all probably make assumptions about him. Because that’s just our nature. When you mix our nature with stereotypes about different occupations and the personalities of those doing them, you make assumptions. While you might guess he is a tech wizard, you might be surprised More >
What We All Need in Life {and Happy Military Spouse Appreciation Day!}
May 11th
I grew up with comfortable familiarity wrapped around me like wide-blue skies around my Oklahoma prairies. And because I grew up in the same town and literally had family for neighbors, not once did I work to meet people or make friends. So, when my Air Force man put a ring on my finger and moved me to the moon {aka Ohio}, I had myself quite the adjustment period. And quite the cry fest. Or fifty.
As a freshly minted Air Force wife, my husband’s Aunt Hetty handed me encouragement in words spoken and on paper. Not only did she know what it was More >
When You Need Your Heart Put Back Together
May 3rd
They say time heals all wounds, but I don’t believe it.
Our Faith walked around with a broken neck for six years, something we were blind to until a gymnastics fall brought it to light. I still cry when I think of all the ways God’s hands protected her spinal cord when her broken vertebrae did not. How God brought us an amazing pediatric neurosurgeon {in our very own town!} who worked His miracles on her neck. And today, the vertebrae are fully fused and healed. She can do more activities than we thought possible, including riding her bike.
But sometimes, broken More >
What All Mamas Need to Hear
Apr 17th
Dear Mama-Extraordinaire,
Yes, I’m talkin’ to you. First of all, you are a wonder, you know that? You, the one He hand-picked to hold, snuggle, love, and raise your babies. You mother your children better than any other woman could.
I’m in the thick of the inbetween season, although I hear the gallop of those teenage years louder and closer. As a mom sandwiched in the middle of the at-home parenting years, may I encourage you through a vow of sorts?
I vow to do my best to give you helpful encouragement.
If you’re a mom of littles, I vow not to approach you in the grocery and More >
What Is Waiting in Your Rescue
Mar 25th
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13-14
I don’t like to think I need rescuing. Even just writing the word ‘rescue’ makes me feel needy, weak, and out-of-control. But the fact remains we all need a Rescuer, and in the rescue is rest for you. And me. Few things strengthen like a healthy dose of rest.
In this fresh new week, may you know He rescues so you can rest in the Light, at home in and More >
Where Fresh Air Finds You
Mar 21st
She overheard me say it all exasperated to my man,
“Well I’m sorry, but…”
She waits for me to finish the sentence and then says it straight out,
“Ya know mama, when you say ‘but’ after ‘sorry’, you pretty much cancel the sorry.”
Well.
I don’t much enjoy getting called on the carpet by an eight year old, but she was right. So I swallowed my pride and told her as much. I know a mama needs to own her mistakes so her kids see what true repentance and humility looks like. But isn’t it easy to excuse a wrong by prettying it up with More >
When Others Knock the Wind Out of Your Sails
Mar 9th
As y’all know, homegirl and I have been getting our Say Yes to the Dress on, and this night is no different. We snuggle up under {relatively} clean sheets and watch an episode featuring a bride and her particularly opinionated “friends.” After getting a feel for the bride’s taste in dresses, a store consultant brings her a strapless drop waste number with ruffles and rosettes playing along the skirt. The bride slips into the dress and turns around to see herself in the floor length mirror. One look and she lights up like the sky on the 4th of July. Indeed, the dress More >
