Happy 2018!
Welcome to 2018! January seems to come in with a bang and be gone in a blink. I often spend the first few days getting organized and making goals, the middle of the month looking for tools and tips to make it work, and the end of the month to look back and realize I didn’t actually make a move on my goals. Anybody relate? This year instead of making a goals list or a wish list I’m doing something new. Literally. Every month I want to find a new adventure. Something I’ve never done before, but always wanted to do. Or to do a new way. I have big…
Mary Visits Elizabeth
Too often I look at the stories in the Bible and say, “I wish I could be like that.” And then every once in awhile I find someone who reacts the way I would. Today, I can relate to Mary. Soon after her visit from the angel she did something I can relate to: she ran. Luke 1:39 tells us that Mary got ready and went in a hurry. Other translations read that she went with haste. In other words, she took off as soon as she could and didn’t look back. I imagine Mary was so unsure of what was happening that she went looking for answers. Looking for…
The Angel Visits Mary
T’is the week before Christmas. Many of us are finishing up our shopping, busily wrapping gifts, and planning our “I still need to…” lists. It’s probably the last few days of school or work, and many of us will be welcoming or be welcomed as visitors in the days ahead. Visiting is one of my favorite traditions of Christmas. We purposely make time to see family and friends who are important to us. We gather around the table or the fireplace. It’s a special time we remember through the seasons. When we look at what the Bible tells us about the birth of Christ we can find several visits and…
T’is the Week Before Christmas…
Maybe your a little like me. Way back at Thanksgiving I made a plan. I even bought all the goodies to make my plan work. I made cute little bags for a “countdown to Christmas” activity with my kiddos. I listed out twenty-four things to put inside. I pulled out my Christmas devotional that spans December and its matching set of daily ornaments. I placed them all ready to get rolling in December. December first came. And went. And now, here I am on December seventeenth and I haven’t so much as cracked the book. The matching ornaments sit wrapped in the cellophane (despite owning them for 3 Christmases) and…
Fear to Faith: Turning Perceived Fears into Power and Love
Okay, I admit it. I have a fear of deer. Yes, deer. Those quiet packs of field-roamers who eat on your summer vegetables in the early morning hours. The moment I spot one my shoulders tense up to my ears, my eyes open an extra inch and my heart races so fast I have to clench my hands over my chest to keep it inside. Its an intense reaction. My fear of deer developed back in 2003. While driving my now-husbands car home from spring break at his family’s house I collided with not just one lovely creature, but 2. The first one I hit head on. He went sliding…
Love > Fear
Yesterday’s post was supposed to be about fear. But as I awoke to the horrific news coming from Las Vegas, there seemed to be enough fear to go around. I am shocked and saddened by the loss of lives. I spent yesterday with my eyes on the television watching survivors and heroes telling about their experiences. I watched as people began to try to make sense of the whys and hows. I have no comforting words of wisdom or reasonable explanations. I don’t understand this violence. I, too, search for answers to explain the loss of innocent lives. As I exited the coffee shop yesterday afternoon, a kind young man…
Running on Need
I’ve been running on need. I need to be here. I need to go there. I need to get this done. I need to better at that. I need to be enough. And I’m tired. I’m stretched thin and feeling weary. Running on necessity has drained me from productivity and rest. Sure, it keeps me moving. Its also unavoidable at times (particularly with multiple children). Yet when we attempt to remain in the constant motion of “needs” we lose our ability to rest and recharge. We forget the joy we once found in certain activities and people. It’s the taxi cab momma who forgets the idle chat in the car…
I’m at The Glorious Table Today!
I’m pulling up a new chair at The Glorious Table. Its refreshing, encouraging, and beautiful. Will you join me? To pull up your chair, click here. Take a look around, find some encouragement, and don’t forget to subscribe! Follow us on social media so you can sit with us every day. You’re always welcome at this table!
Three Word Instructions to Simplify Life: What a Fitted Sheet Taught me About Life’s Instruction Book
Fitted sheets. They frustrate me in so many ways. They shift and bulge on the bed. To fold one neatly requires four hands and an hour of time. And the bending and stretching required to put it on the bed burns the calorie equivalent of the candy bar I eat when I’m done. But the most frustrating part of my fitted sheet is determining its direction! The first corner is easy. Nearly every stretch to the second corner comes up short. I inevitably start with the wrong corner. Just yesterday my sheet changing started this way again. But when I ran my fingers down the edge I felt a tag…
The Pros and Cons of a Label
“Let the Janitor through.” I looked through the crowd of middle school students before turning to glance behind me. I didn’t see a custodian anywhere. But as I took a step forward pushing my sweeper into the parting crowd my bucket brushed against my leg. Sweeper. Bucket. I’m the janitor. For a moment my heart fell to my stomach. I wanted to scream out that I am not a janitor: I’m a parent helping the school by cleaning once a week! I’m a substitute teacher. A writer. A mom. But a janitor? The label was like a sucker punch to the gut called pride. I made my way through the…