Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15 ESV).   Right in the middle of Romans 12, under the heading “Marks of the true Christian,” is this beautiful little verse. In moments of tragedy when my mind spins around searching for the right thing to say, God has often brought the…

Our electronic devices get charged on a regular basis or they simply stop functioning and are not there for us when we need them. What about us though? How often do we catch ourselves saying phrases like, “Oh, I feel so drained” or “I’m overloaded” or “I wish I could get a break!” As we…

I hate yard projects. I hate raking, mowing, weeding, and maintaining the massive lilac bushes in my backyard. The unfortunate part about this, however, is that I happen to appreciate nature…so why can’t I get my act together so my yard actually looks nice??!   The truth is, I would rather sit on a patio…

Life is so precious and so fragile.   I gained a deeper understanding of God’s miracle of life and just how fragile it truly is when my son Iver was born.   My husband and I drove to the hospital with excited anticipation on a cold, early morning on December 31st, 2020. Having my son…

I was completely flustered. There I was, a brand new mom, with my firstborn baby, who would NOT stop crying! I fed, I rocked, I paced, I bounced. I shushed softly; I shushed loudly. No matter what I did, I couldn’t calm him down.   Everything felt so hard in those moments. Why wouldn’t he…

The other day my daughter asked for a marker. I handed her one, and the next thing I knew I saw her writing on her hand with a sharpie! I asked her what she was doing, and she explained to me she was reminding herself to do devotions that night. You see, my 14-year old…

“Don’t drink THAT juice; it’s mine!”   These were my words to our precious granddaughters one day. Of course I didn’t sound as harsh as that. My words were more like, “Don’t drink grandma’s juice. I have to drink it for my doctor’s appointment tomorrow.”    You see, I had mixed up my two-quart pitcher…

I don’t love change and my heart has felt fragile and thin with it lately. I don’t know if you’ve ever felt that way — when the tears come easily and parts of the day seem colorless and sad. Just when my broken heart had somewhat mended from the death of my dad a year…

Lately, it seems like several people around me are moving forward with their seemingly picture perfect lives while I feel somewhat…stagnant. My husband, Josh, and I have been trying to conceive for three years, which feels like forever when you typically get what you want…and without much waiting (like, a purple lava lamp in 1996,…

The story of Sampson is one of those weird stories in the Bible that at first glance seems like a great children’s story. A man of God with flowing, Herculean-locks is given the super human strength to deliver his people from oppressors. We have three different kid’s Bibles in my house, and they all tell…