A Fight to the Finish Line
When I am about to embark on something new or momentous, I set out with great anticipation and excitement. Yet, I have found myself feeling like it has just been a fight to the finish line. This summer, my family and I were able to enjoy a beautiful vacation. We were filled with excitement. The weather was beautiful and God’s grandeur was all around us to soak in. After a ride that felt like forever, we arrived at our first stop. Among the towering trees and majestic mountains, there was a suspension bridge. We were captivated. We watched hundreds of
Jabez- the One who prayed that Prayer
Four years ago, in the height of Covid, masks and social distancing, my son left for college. We weren’t sure what the next four years would hold. He wasn’t sure either. Would he make friends? Good friends? I mean the right kind of friends? And in a world where everyone is either staring down at their phone and/or wearing a mask (and you can’t tell if they’re smiling or scowling), would it be even possible to make new friends? For the first few weeks of school, every time we spoke on the phone, I’d ask the same set of questions.
Relationship
Competition is in my blood. My parents were both competitive students growing up and it got passed down to their children. One of our favorite things to do in Sunday School was memory verse competition. The student who recited the most number of verses won First Place. The weeks leading to the big day were spent feverishly repeating verses over and over. Game faces on (our Sunday school smiles), we would walk up to the mic and fire away. While I didn't get top prize every time, that was always my goal. That's one of the reasons I have memorized
You Better Work!
Job is one of my favorite books of the Bible. (Does that make me crazy?) It has all the makings of a great novel- character establishment, conflict, villains, and a happy ending. When God finally answers Job, the prose is so beautiful. It reads like poetry. The imagery is so vivid and moving. This time, as I read along with our Old Testament reading plan, I had some different insight. Maybe it's the season of life I'm in. Maybe God is really trying to drill home a lesson to me. Maybe I'm lazy. During the course of the book, Job
The Season is Now
I recently came across some thoughts from Pastor Craig Groeschel that made me stop mid scroll. He wrote… “Someone needs to be reminded to be careful not to wish away the season you once prayed for. You may be living in the middle of an answered prayer and not even realize it. For me, it’s easy to be focused on something in the future. ‘One day when…’ is a common way I’d start my sentences or think in my mind. Lots of ‘one days’ have come and gone. Now I’m trying to tell myself, ‘This is the day I’ve been
People Are Like Shoes
Confession: I was a big fan of the show “Friends”. (Please don’t judge me.) If you are willing to admit that you were too, which “friend” did you relate to the most? If you have known me for 2 months or 2 decades, it probably didn’t take long to figure out that I am Monica. Cleaning makes me happy (True story: I was so excited to start using my new Swiffer duster that I actually took a pic with it.) Everything has a home and every space has a coaster. And bonus, I married my best friend, too. 🙂 If
Teamwork
When I was a newlywed, I quickly discovered how different my husband and I were about tackling household tasks. We each had our own style of folding laundry. We had different definitions of what tidy looks like. My thought was, “I’ll just do it all by myself!” However, the Lord humbled me and showed me how to take the best from each of our methods and work together. Don’t get me wrong - there was a learning curve, but there has been peace and joy as we divide and conquer based on our strengths. God truly helped us to see
The Little Ducklings
My neighborhood is an entire ecosystem. Behind our house, there is a farm with cows and a donkey. There is a pond on the farm that is home to some ducks. On the street behind us, several of the homes have chicken coops. We've caught two snakes in our garage and found a few turtles in the culverts. Early in the morning you can often here the high pitched screeching of coyotes, and we have the usual rabbits, squirrels and occasional skunks. One day, I was in a rush to drop my kids off and there were two geese, just
The Goodness of God
My family and I just returned from a trip to our hometown in New York. While we were there, we were fortunate enough to visit with many loved ones. It had been a few years since our last trip so there was a lot to catch up on! Our conversations went late into the night and involved reminiscing, sharing updates - the highs and lows, and giving thanks to the Lord. Needless to say, it was time well spent - laughter, tears, and all. The resounding theme of every conversation was how God has been faithful - in our families,
Freedom
My kids were waiting patiently for the alligator to roar and open its giant mouth to reveal gnarly white teeth. We were outside a jungle-themed restaurant, so fortunately it was just a replica of the reptile and not the real thing. As soon as its jaw opened, the kids giggled with delight. Trust me, had we been at a real swamp, our reaction would have been way different. As my kids have grown, I’ve realized that protecting them from REAL predators gets harder and harder. The enemy doesn’t always show up with scary teeth and slithery skin. He shows up