Grace
When You Need a Fresh Start Right This Moment
Apr 4th
Her footsteps reach my ears well before she does. She stomps into the kitchen, mad as a wet hornet. This first Monday after spring break isn’t going to be pretty.
As far as she’s concerned, we can’t say or do anything right. One brother stares at her {“Whhhy are you lookin’ at me?”}, the other asks her what’s wrong {“Nothin’!!”}. But it’s when I ask her if she wants milk that all heck breaks loose right there over oatmeal.
I tell her enough is enough and it’s time for a do-over.
“Young lady, you may march right back upstairs and walk down the hall to More >
The REAL Avenger!
Mar 13th
Our family can’t wait to see the new Avengers movie! Superheros appeal to both children and adults alike. Who doesn’t like the chance to root for the good guys and watch them win against evil?
We are faced each day with the opportunity to be superheros in our own way. By choosing grace, forgiveness, and love, we choose to rise above!
When someone hurts you, forgiveness is not about them. When a friend makes poor decisions, and you still love them, it’s not about them. When someone talks negatively or tries to bring you down, and you choose to not take it personally, it’s More >
How to Make a New Vivid Memory
Jan 19th
She whirls right past me, a blur of red kitty jammies and honey colored hair. She’s holding a snack and her doll but stops long enough to ask me,
“Mama, can you bring me a drink?”
I must have given her a look because she wastes no time answering her own question.
“Never mind, Mama. I’m sorry!”
And right then and there I see a vivid picture of all the times I’ve treated her – and her brothers – like an inconvenience. All those times I buy into believing the world stops turning if the gotta-get-dones remain undone. All those times I treat little More >
Satan’s Secre…
Jan 17th
Satan’s Secret Weapon
Satan has a secret weapon that he uses on just about everyone at some point. This weapon is so effective because it is secret! This weapon keeps people from open fellowship with God and often times alienates it’s victims from friends and family. The weapon is Shame!
According to Wikipedia: The roots of the word shame are thought to derive from an older word meaning to cover; as such, covering oneself, literally or figuratively, is a natural expression of shame.
Shame is the enemy’s tool, used to isolate, discourage, and falsely accuse. Often times shame stems from actions or decisions we’ve More >
When You Need to Find Contentment Today
Jan 12th
Just when I find I’m most giddy about settling once again into a solid routine, a virus invades our space, running rampit on my peeps while wrecking havoc in my home.
Now, I breathe thankfulness for the lovely things like sunshine, good report cards, an invitation to dinner. It’s easy. I {imperfectly} breathe thankfulness for the difficult things like a daughter’s surgery, the threat of deployment. It’s cathartic. But there there’s that expansive middle between easy and difficult, that exasperating area that tap, tap, taps on my shoulder driving. me. batty. Interrupting viruses, too-long appointments, unexpected meetings. The arms of that annoying middle reach far More >
How You Can Really Rest This New Year
Jan 4th
Happy New Year, darlings! I’ve missed you so much!
How did your holidays treat you? Good, I hope?
Ours treated us better than we deserve. Oh, it wasn’t perfect, but it was perfectly wonderful. It began on a hard note with our girl’s surgery to fuse her top two vertebrae together. While the days and hours leading up to surgery kept my stomach flip flopping, I can now say that being on the other side of it is pure joy. Still, you won’t waste a prayer on Faith, that her vertebrae behave by fusing like good little bones. We won’t know the More >
For When You Want to Know His Love
Oct 15th
God could have chosen any ol’ way to show demarcation of time . He didn’t have to make leaves of trees change colors, fall off, and grow new again. We wouldn’t have known what we were missing. But He knew what we’d be missing, so He created seasons because He gets a kick out of blessing us.
“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” Isaiah 43: 25
He wipes our slate clean for His own sake. Our sin puts us out of sorts with God, and He doesn’t want to be More >
When You Want to Stage the Future so You Can Change the Past
Oct 5th
I know our neighbors – a super cute and sweet young couple – have heard me hollerin’ at my kids in the backyard more than once.
So when I noticed they were outside one recent afternoon, I saw my chance to redeem my perceived poor parenting impression. I asked my daughter if she wanted to head outside so I could push her on the swing. Since she’s always up for going outside, that was an easy yes.
Things flowed beautifully for about 15 seconds, then I failed to push her high enough or fast enough. She threw some sass and I scolded her. She More >
