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During Christmas time, we bought some gift cards for some family members to a fast food Chinese restaurant. We knew these family members really liked this restaurant, so we figured they would enjoy the gift cards. My children had never eaten at this fast food Chinese restaurant before, so they asked if we could try

Whenever I would try to read the Bible throughout my life, I would always gravitate towards the Psalms, Proverbs, or the gospels.  To be completely honest, I would just read sporadically with good intentions, but ultimately, I didn’t fully grasp what the Bible was really all about. So when the Whispers & Fringes discipleship program

As we head into Thanksgiving, I can’t help but reflect on the goodness of God in my life.  It’s not because I had a great year full of success and mountaintop experiences.  There were many highs, but there were also many difficult trials and loss.  But it was through the most challenging of circumstances, I

I  remember the conversation like it was yesterday.  It was my first year of college and I was in my first full day of orientation with other freshmen like myself.  Since it was Texas in August, the day was hot and long, and I was looking forward to it ending. As the group and I

Recently I was a guest at an extended family function.  It was a relatively small gathering and it was really nice seeing some family members that I had not seen in a while. But what struck me more so that day were the people that were NOT there, but that SHOULD have been there because

When things get difficult, the easiest thing for me to do is to isolate myself.  In fact, my go to reaction is to retreat and be alone with thoughts. Why? It’s usually because I feel one of the following: My problem is unique and no one can help me I don’t want to “bother” anyone

Yesterday I attended the memorial service of a young man who passed away unexpectedly last week.  The service was a beautiful celebration of his life and the legacy he left behind in his 17 years on this earth. There was so much love in that room, and I was so moved to see the collective

It has been one of those weeks.  Alot feels like it’s going wrong.  I’ve worried about it.  Talked about it.  Prayed about it.  And worried about it some more.   And I continue to see no tangible change in the situation. But after sharing with my friend what’s been on my heart, she gave me

Mistakes. I tend to make a lot of them.  Whatever it is…whether it’s losing my temper with my kids, being quick to speak before I hear the whole story, or making a clerical error because I was rushing to finish something at work…mistakes are a big part of my life. It seems that lately when

How many of us trudge through our week and our jobs, working just to bring home a paycheck, with our eyes focused solely on getting to the weekend? This weekend at church, the guest speaker, Rabbi Daniel Lapin, challenged us to take a different perspective of our work. Rabbi Lapin correlated the word “work” and