How to Pour Out Your Heart
After a weekend away for Mother’s Day, I find myself longing for extended time with Jesus. When I fall out of my devotional habits of prayer, silence, journaling, Bible reading, and worship, I discover I’m so filled up inside with worry, confusion, and scattered thinking. I’m also filled with the good things of anticipation for […]
A Watermelon Always
It’s that time of year when we eat a watermelon a week. The girls put chunks in thermoses that keep them cool all day for their lunches. I keep a bowl of cut watermelon on the counter always. I love having a cool, crips watermelon to snack on all day long. What a sweet treat! […]
Settle In
On this Mother’s Day, I find myself in traffic. My husband says, “Just settle in.” We’re going to sit here for awhile—or else inch along—and there’s no use complaining about it, resisting it, or imagining another scenario in which I’m not in traffic. No. I’m in traffic. This is happening. When my husband says to […]
Getting Older: Support Others
My Wise Big Sister and I had the best conversation about what it means to grow older and prepare for our children leaving the house. Then what? What’s the point now? We talk about the joy of now coming alongside our children—and younger members of our community—as a support network, as scaffolding, as encouragement. We […]
You Set It All Out: Some Will Take Something
Every May, our town has a “large trash pick up day” where you can set out your large household items you no longer need or want. It’s turned into a grand shopping experience for the trucks slowly driving the streets to look for scrap metal, antiques, wood, or any assortment of material. It reminds me […]
From Thing to Thing
Today was a day I bounced from thing to thing with barely time to breathe. You know days like this. You bounce. You don’t even stop to sit down. But you’re a writer, so with your purse still on your shoulder and your car keys on your lap, you take three minutes before the next […]
It Will Go Well Today
Over the years, I’ve learned to live in the triumphant mindset that things will go well. They must. We serve a God who cares for all our needs (Matthew 10:31), who works our circumstances for our good (Romans 8:28), and who, by His unchanging nature, never fails to display His love to us (Psalm 103:17). […]
How I Find Them
My husband asked me again recently how I so quickly find the nests of birds. We’ll walk down the sidewalk together, and I’ll point out that robin’s muddy nest or that sparrow’s tightly cupped nest or that mourning dove’s loose pile of sticks that’s actually a nest. I tell him that I know where and […]
When Your Two Passions Merge
I can hardly describe to you the joy in my heart as the Proverbs31 COMPEL book club starts today. Over 400 participants will read Seated with Christ together and receive writing instruction for the month of May. In other words, I get to talk about Jesus and teach writing for four weeks. I get to […]
A Bible Verse I’m Memorizing: Psalm 5:11-12
This morning I thought about the wonderful promises found in Psalm 5:11-12. I spent several minutes setting these words to memory, and I realized how precious the words have become to me as I look back upon the past and live in future hope. But let all who take refuge in you be glad;let them […]