I don’t know about you, but I’m in a desperate sort of place. Fading are my illusions of progress and maturity. God help me practice patience today, I prayed this morning. God, forgive my lack of patience today, I prayed tonight. My little people, my current calling, this winter gloom, my heavy heart, all leave me . . . low. Functioning, but low. Maybe God is stripping away the self-righteousness that keeps me from clinging to His righteousness alone. ...
It’s so good to be back after my month of rest! Even though my husband (who has recovered well) was stuck on the couch a good two weeks after his knee surgery, I found there’s a soul rest that doesn’t depend on the fullness of your days. My house is rarely quiet, but my soul needed to stop striving and live quietly for a while. Over the break, I read three books in the Chronicles of Narnia series that...
I know it looks like I’ve gotten my blog posts all mixed up and have skipped Thanksgiving, but I promise this is right on time! I have a very vivid memory of one Christmas as a child. I must have been in about third grade. It was evening on Christmas day and I was curled up in the corner of my bedroom feeling completely deflated. It hadn’t been magical. The gifts I got were nice, but maybe slightly disappointing...
Can I try to encourage you today? If you’re like me, you’re catching bits of news here and there, watching horrifying videos, and wondering where terror will strike next. And your heart feels a bit shaky. These are some Scripture that have come to mind in the last few days. I simply want to share them with you and pray that you let their truths pour over your heart. I have made a few highlights of things that jumped...
It has become clear to me that I have a problem (okay, more than one, but let’s focus here!). I don’t know if it’s my creatively-bent brain, our social media age, or the natural consequence of being a mom of multiple children, but I have lost the ability to focus on one thing for any length of time. My friend Katie and I were just lamenting about this recently, so I doubt I’m the only one. Have you ever...
We’re trying a little exercise at our house. If we begin to complain about something, we have to quickly name five things we are thankful for. I’m no proponent of parenting techniques that work for all kids at all times, so that’s not my intent here, but I think our little game says something about the reality of our hearts (I’ve written about this more at length before here). I see unthankfulness (and other negative thought processes) like a...
