love
what I wish they knew…
What does a room full of teenagers need to know about God? That was the question I kept asking myself as I was prepping for our first breakfast club. It felt like a big and daunting question because God is BIG. It also felt like a big and daunting question because of the…
nice when they’re not…
You know what I find to be one of the hardest things to teach my kids? Be nice when the other person is not. But that’s what I tell my kids when they divulge to me that other kids at school say mean things to them, or push them around. Be nice when they’re not. …
the lesson I learned about rest…
Resting. I’m NOT good at it. I don’t really do it because the entire time I am resting, all I can think about is what I should be doing instead of resting. I prefer to run full speed. To get stuff done. To knock out my to-do list like a prize fighter. Most of…
Her name was Hope…
I was almost home, only a block from my house, when I saw her lying there on the side of the road. An elderly woman had fallen into a snowbank and couldn’t get up. I slammed on my brakes, pulled over, and ran to help her. As I got closer, I could smell the alcohol.…
be at peace…
Do you have anyone in your life who is difficult to be at peace with? I do. And I gotta say that sometimes, being at peace is no small task…and definitely not always very fun or very fair. For the last year, I’ve been wrestling with what the Bible says about being a peacemaker because…
I am with you always…
I am with you always… Jesus said this to his disciples in Matthew 28 as he was sending them out to do life after his death and resurrection. He was giving them his final pep talk, so to speak, before he ascended into heaven, and he was getting them ready to do his work.…
leaves, but no fruit…
Leaves, but no fruit. That was the problem with the fig tree that Jesus saw on his way into Jerusalem in Matthew 21. From afar, the tree looked healthy and vital because it had lush, green leaves. Trees as beautiful as this tree were supposed to produce abundant, delicious figs. The leaves were supposed to…
hiding…
I’m not going to sugarcoat last week. I want too…because it wasn’t my best. But I won’t. Here’s the ugly truth: I struggled spiritually, even though I was doing a fast and God did some amazing things. I couldn’t make myself write for days. I cleaned. I baked. I painted. I watched movies. I ate…
why my biggest challenge was also my greatest blessing…
This picture doesn’t tell the real story. It looks like my life was beautiful and happy. The truth is that a year ago, I was at rock bottom. I was battling postpartum depression and my 11 month old was battling colic…and we were both losing. Because of his around-the-clock fussiness, I rarely ventured out and…
love isn’t enough…
I’m completely unqualified to speak on this giant topic, I fully understand. Utterly unqualified. I’m talking about: Mass shootings. Hate crimes. Human trafficking. Violence. How did our country get so lost? The problem seems so big….so beyond me. It feels like there is nothing I can do that would make a difference. Have you felt…