It Never Hurts to Ask…
I’ve been known to pray unusual (and even comical) prayers. Like the time when our dryer stopped working. My husband and I were just a few years into marriage and we were on a budget...So I did the only sensible thing I knew to do. I placed my hands on the dryer and prayed. (It never hurts to ask, right?) Now God hasn’t healed every major appliance I’ve ever prayed for, but he healed this one...actually, He gave my husband the wisdom to fix it. Whatever the case, we didn’t have to buy a new one! Woo-hoo! Praise God! James
The Tightrope
This was the day I became a parent. I had somewhat of a clue of what to expect, but almost a decade later, I can say it was very little. And that's my husband in the background, enjoying a burger. Don't think he knew, either. This past Sunday, I began to reminisce about that day when our world changed. Sometimes parenting feels like walking on a tightrope- you make one little mistake and it's over for good. I've realized, though, that when I do mess up, there's a cushion of grace waiting below to soften my fall. Along with receiving
When You Don’t Like God’s Answer…
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is when Jesus heals the demon possessed man at the Gerasenes. This man is legitimately crazy. He lives in a graveyard (naked) and is so insanely strong that chains can't hold him. I picture him with crazy hair and covered in filth. You could probably smell him before you actually see him. All of the neighboring towns knew about him and probably circulated wild stories about him. He must have been the local "Boogeyman". Jesus heals the man, and when the nearby farmers see him sitting there, dressed, and in his right
Appointed… For Such a Time as This
I was 7 months pregnant, sitting on the sofa in my family room and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Two planes just crashed into the World Trade Center...on purpose. ‘My baby will be here in 2 months,’ I thought to myself. ‘What kind of evil world is he about to enter into? Will he even have a chance?’ I called a friend. She was as stunned and heartbroken as I was. We processed our thoughts out loud...and we prayed. Fast forward about ten years. Smartphones are the newest thing. Everyone has one..and I mean everyone. The internet is literally in
You Are Not Forgotten
Although it was a while ago, I can still recall the excitement that was building up for senior year between photos, prom, the class trip, and graduation. I think we can all agree that those momentous occasions were the culmination of all the years spent in school between studying, writing papers, and takings loads of exams. So imagine the Class of 2020’s disappointment when those events cannot occur as planned due to the pandemic. One can be left wondering: “What was this all for?” “Does anyone even care?” In the midst of such thoughts possibly popping up, it astounds me
He Calls You By Name
I was recently watching the first episode of “The Chosen”, a series about Jesus and the lives of those who encountered Him. One of the first characters that they focused on was Mary Magdalene. What we know about her from the Bible is that she was delivered from seven demons and became a devoted follower of Jesus. “The Chosen” dives into who she was as a woman filled with demons and as a sinner who lived on the shady side of town. We see her being tormented by fear and demons, and the isolation and shame that she carries as
It Wasn’t Supposed to Be This Way
It’s hard to believe that we commemorated my oldest daughter’s LAST day of school last week. What a whirlwind of emotions! I had a flashback of our move to Texas 15 years ago. With my desire to be a stay at home mom becoming a reality, I quickly came up with a plan. Amidst boxes, my husband working from home, a toddler, and an infant, I sat for hours and put together an entire curriculum for my three-year-old daughter. I still remember color-coding each subject in the spreadsheet I created. I prepared my display board and the walls of my
Running Out of Oil
I figuratively hit a wall last week. Last weekend, after cooking my 6th meal in a row, I almost lost it. It really wasn't the cooking that did me in. It was the prepping, cooking, eating, and clean up which only left me room to do a load of laundry before this cycle started all over again. It was also the previous week of working every day, coming home and helping with school work and cooking every night that had already lit a small fire in my soul. Ironically, there has been very little downtime in our time of
Looking Ahead…
I took out a few photo albums from our storage closet and lined them up against the wall...in chronological order. It was my weird way of getting my thoughts organized and step one in preparing a little video montage for my graduating high school senior. As I sifted through each album (eighteen to be exact), sweet memory after sweet memory flooded my mind...and I’ll be honest, with so much uncertainty going on these days, I couldn’t help but think, ”Are our best years behind us?” Before that thought could take root and settle in my heart, the words of the
Happy Home
My parents have a sign in their home that simply says, “All of our visitors bring happiness. Some by coming, others by going.“ I am not sure who the “others” are but I am hoping I am not one of them. In a day when no one is really coming or going anywhere, there is still one place we can make that kind of impact: our own homes. But the question remains - do we bring happiness when we walk into a room ... or when we leave it? When Moses was leading the children of Israel, he had a
