When I was learning to cook, I discovered a few things the hard way. Vanilla extract does not taste good by itself, baking chocolate is not the same as a candy bar, and forgetting to include key ingredients will result in something that might look like the picture in the cookbook, but won’t taste like…
I have the joy of raising two young boys. They are beautiful, messy, silly, and adventurous. They are also as different as different can be. One is timid, cautious, and thoughtful while the other is fearless, bold, and rough (to put it nicely.) One has stick-straight hair while the other has a head full of…
Julie is a Christ follower and a loyal friend whose greatest desire is to glorify God. But Julie has a blind spot. She belittles her husband and makes snide remarks about him. She doesn’t see the impact her words have on her marriage or her testimony. Two of Julie’s friends are alarmed by her loose…
Once upon a time I was infertile. For years I struggled to find my place, my “tribe” if you will, and I did find it at last. I found support online, and I found it through a Support Group I helped start at my church. I felt scaffolded by the other women who were trudging…
When I was in my forties, I asked my mom, who was in her sixties, “Mom, at what age did you finally feel like a real grown up?” “I’ll let you know,” she said. “It hasn’t happened yet.” I thought being a grown-up would be a little less–I don’t know–messy. I thought it would be…
Let’s face it: some people are harder to love than others. Sometimes it’s their personality or behavior, but often those are formed by their story. Someone treated them harshly when they were younger; they had a terrible role model in their mother or father; they were abused; they were orphaned; they were rejected. These things…