Every weekday morning, I have a gap of about forty-five minutes between when my son leaves for school and when my younger daughter needs to get out of bed. My oldest is in college, so these are the only two in the house I encourage to rise and shine. Most mornings I use this time…
“Find your own rhythm,” we’re told. But in a world full of comparison, how is that done—especially with a million messages bombarding us each day? “Strive for greatness!” “Nothing is impossible!” “Ten steps to success!” “Three keys to a wonderful marriage and family!” “Follow me, and I’ll give you all the answers!” It’s exhausting. Instead…
“I don’t know how you do it,” a friend told me. “Church, kids, writing.” “I don’t sleep,” I said, half-joking. (We have a newborn; it’s only half a joke.) While moving fast, going quickly, and multitasking may be impressive in a world filled with content-creating and service-providing and like-share-click-tweet, they aren’t good. Running at the…
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (Psalm 139:23–24 NLT) My goal for the winter is to clean out the basement. In this house, our mutual pack-rat-ish tendencies have produced a lower…
My family left the hustle and bustle of American civilization in 2010. We didn’t move back to the States until 2014. When we left for the Middle East, I owned a Razr flip phone. (Smartphones weren’t yet a required appendage.) It was incredibly eerie when we stepped back on American soil in 2014. Everyone had…
A bit weary after working too many long hours editing and writing, I decided I needed to give myself an extra day off. Most people have a go-to activity or two when they have a stretch of free time. They bake or go fishing. They shop or visit a museum. They set up model trains…