Monsters are real. I’ve known this for quite a while now, even though it has taken me years to say it out loud. The monsters never look how I imagined them, but I recognize them when I see them. As little kids we know the danger is real. We can feel it and hear it …
I am worth more than leftovers
It took me a long time to realize this, but I am worth more than leftovers. I can and should lay down my rights for yours and forgive seventy times seven and give my life for a brother, BUT there’s sacrificial giving and then there’s self-sacrificing living, and there’s a fine line between the two. …
Who I am and why I’m here
I’m a Christian working mom who is married to a pastor who is a former Marine. I am a mother of six and grandmother of one. Once upon a time, my husband and I sold everything we had and served as missionaries overseas. But I’m so much more than that. I am also a woman …
I was okay . . . until I wasn’t
I thought I had it all under control. One day while we were living in Pennsylvania for part of our missionary training, I took the kids and went to WalMart for a supply run. The lady behind me in the checkout line saw me paying for fabric with my four daughters in tow and sporting …
Someone forgot to tell the flowers
I am working at my computer while my cat chews the cords and my son asks what’s for lunch and my husband walks by and kisses the top of my head. I am well rested because it’s a much shorter distance to my dining room table than my office across the river, and the gym …
Sometimes we get a front row seat
If there is no God, then who just bought my lunch? I had been having a bad week - well, more like a bad month - but all of a sudden, everything changed for the better in ways I never imagined. This doesn’t mean God is real. Nor does it mean things are …
bedbugs don’t make for a very happy birthday, even when they’re only in your imagination
My birthday was on Monday, but instead of waking up to breakfast in bed, I woke up to another day of dealing with bedbugs. I had spent the previous day with box of black garbage bags and a day's wages in quarters, transporting clothes from the bedrooms to the laundromat in an endless procession of …
Any bumbling smudges I could offer
There are no destinations in life, only journeys. I thought I was just getting a small bite of dark chocolate goodness to finish off my brown bag lunch, but it would seem I was in store for a whole lot more. I licked the chocolate off my finger as I read that Dove wrapper and …
These last few days of guaranteed holiday delivery
My holidays used to consist of homemade baked goods, singing carols at the piano, and a Christmas dinner created entirely from scratch. And by "entirely from scratch," I mean drying my own bread for the stuffing and steaming my own pumpkin for the pie! Things are a little different these days. Since going back …
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I was sitting in my favorite spot
Another birthday has come and gone. To celebrate, I allowed myself a few extra minutes with my Bible and a cup of strong coffee in the quiet early morning before anyone else woke up. I was sitting in my favorite spot near my faux fireplace where I could look out the window while I …
