But I Could Do So Much More…

We were in the middle of a marriage counseling session, Matt and I. We were counseling a couple just newly wed and, as always because our little ones are still so little, our three year old and one year old were running around, playing with toy trucks and cars, knocking over block towers. We tried...

Washing Dishes Isn’t Necessary

This is not some hippie post about stylishly refusing to wash dishes by hand because we need to preserve soap and water (a July 2018 article actually says that to hand wash dishes is "literally wasting your life"). It's also not about deciding that it's unnecessary to eat off of clean plates and forks. In reality,...

The When, Thens of Life

“Most men are not satisfied with the permanent output of their lives. Nothing can wholly satisfy the life of Christ within His followers except the adoption of Christ’s purpose toward the world He came to redeem. Fame, pleasure and riches are but husks and ashes in contrast with the boundless and abiding joy of working...

White Tombs & Expectations

I've been to counseling over them. Spoken deeply with good friends about them. Had honest conversations with my boss about them. Poured out my heart to my husband over them. Had my parents remind me over and over again of truth so I could forget about them. Wrestled with them and lost sleep over them...

Do You Not Remember?

"When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, 'Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.' And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, 'We brought no bread.' But Jesus, aware of this, said, 'O you of little faith, why are you...

How to Successfully Build a Platform

Lately, my desire to be a successful writer has been strong. So, I went to two writer's conferences in two weeks, took pages of notes, asked editors and established writers many questions, wrote blog posts, and created an "author" page on Facebook. I came home from one writer's conference with an Instagram and a revived...

“But You Promised!”

"But you promised!"  "But you said you would!" As a little girl, these statements often crossed my mind and my lips. If my dad said earlier that day that we were going to get ice cream that evening and then something came up, I would cry out in defiance, "But you promised we would go for...

What is Your Goal?

I feel like I get asked what I do just as much as, “how are you?” It’s as if what I do defines who I am, where I work tells others more about me than anything else, and my title is worth more than my name. I especially felt like this in college when people...

This is What He Did

Tonight, I intended to go sit down at a quiet coffee shop, plug in my headphones, and work on a writing project I have been trying to work on for some time. I headed toward one of my favorite area coffee shops, but because of construction I was detoured more than once. I finally got...

The Thorn is Not the Sin

"So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But He said to me,...