I looked in the mirror, brow furrowed, taking in my brand-new, freshly unpregnant form. I had just spent nine months carrying an absolutely enormous baby boy, and it showed. Purple stretch marks crisscrossed my abdomen like lightning bolts. My soft, saggy stomach had a new squishy, spongy quality. My breasts tingled and swelled, preparing for…
One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord. (Psalm 27:4 NIV) Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John…
Hello, dear ones. I see you there. Feeling insecure. Doubting yourself. Looking to boys or men or friends or achievements—or perhaps all the above—for validation. I see you trying to figure yourself out. Trying to find your “place.” Trying to figure out what category you fit into. Trying to be enough. Trying not to be…
My family recently visited an all-inclusive resort in Playa Mujeres, Mexico. We were treated to an ocean view, a stocked mini bar—and restroom facilities far fancier than the ones installed in our 115-year-old army-base quarters. The ability to fit two people into the Jacuzzi tub at your hotel when you can’t fit two people in…
Fourteen years ago I perused a store’s toy aisle, looking for a stuffed animal for my second son. He had some nighttime fears, and I wanted to get a dog to comfort him. I found a cute black one with sweet eyes. Being a wiser parent than I’d been with my first child, I bought…
Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things. (Philippians 4:8 CSB) My children are digital-age natives. Most likely, they will never know life without the massive amount…