Do you ever wonder if you're good enough or doing enough? I do. I have these thoughts quite often as I try to carry out my faith as a wife, parent, daughter, sibling, friend, parishioner and worker. The list could go on couldn't it? All of the roles we take on in life. When I think […]
Every spring we have one of those days. Out of nowhere, the temperature drops and we get a great storm with hail. The kids love it but I cringe at the thought of our fragile flowers being pelted by the ice. This year it was the bluebells that were still standing, the lilacs and my gorgeous […]
It's already but not yet. We've been given the date and the declaration but we have not really experienced it quite fully yet...at least not in Missouri. Yes...we've had days...but they have been too short. Just today we had 75-80 degree weather. But the wind is howling outside my window right now as I write […]
We slathered the used milk cartons with crunchy peanut butter. Hands covered with nuts and cream. Pudgy cheeks smeared with the stuff. Chunks of it on the table and chairs. Lips smacked with "extras". I didn't remember it being that messy when I watched my daughter's preschool class do it. The making of bird feeders. […]
Happy New Year! I appreciate you, the reader, and how so many of you encouraged me throughout 2013. So do you have big resolutions that you're sharing with friends and family today? Perhaps it is a quiet thought about change that you are storing up in your heart. I'd like to encourage you today... In his […]
I don't know the exact date we started but it was years ago now. Calling each other on a Tuesday morning at 6:00 AM. Talking each other up to look toward the Lord and the eternal each week. Sometimes talking each other down off the cliff we feel like we're standing at the edge of. Most […]
So...I'm tired and stumbling through my morning. Not sure where to begin. I know I need some spiritual help because I've had little sleep and we're all sick here. The husband is gone and I feel alone in this physical and spiritual battle. I still have a few days to go before he's back. Unfortunately, […]
"That is mine! It belongs to me!" Those words (or something like them) have been heard by every person who has lived if they've lived in community with others. Parents cringe when they hear them. We all say them though...even if it is merely through our attitudes and actions. It can be seen in our homes, school […]
Look at these two little stinkers. They look like they're up to something here don't they? We enjoyed a beautiful fall day on Sunday. After church, we went apple picking and pumpkin grabbing. The kids wanted to go in the hay maze at the pumpkin farm. Papa got them started but they ALL decided it was […]
A short and simple truth for the week... He reigns... When I weep as I watch the news. When a friend betrays. When evil seems to win out over good. When death lurks for people I love. When daily work feels burdensome. When my day feels out of control...everything and everyone else around me is moving […]
Advent Joy isn’t shallow or sentimental—it is rooted in the appearing of Christ. When Scripture speaks of Christ being manifested, it means that God has made Himself clearly seen, known, and encountered in order to save. “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation…” — Titus 2:11, ESV The Child in the manger is the […]
Where do you long for Christ’s Peace to enter your story this week? Or have you given up hope for that? Perhaps it would be good for you and me to remember Jesus' words about the kind of peace He gives. "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the […]