“She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family.” (Proverbs 31:15 NIV) During the school year, this verse speaks to me almost every weekday morning as I rise before the sun. The middle school day in our district begins early, and one of my tasks is rousing my thirteen-year-old son….
Regardless of our political persuasions, I think we can all agree we live in a culture that leans toward the judgmental. How does this current climate affect us as followers of Christ, especially when we encounter those living in poverty? In an effort to be less “judgmental,” some Christians have swung all the way to…
I’m a homebody. I love the comfort and security of being at home. Most evenings you can find me curled up on the couch reading a book or on my laptop writing—two of my favorite things to do. I’m also a mom to four kids, and because I homeschool them, we spend many hours at…
“Hearts don’t break around here.” ~Ed Sheeran, singer/songwriter During spring break I was poolside, soaking in the sun and feeling happy to have a good pair of sunglasses and an engaging book. Sunny music interwove itself with my good feelings, courtesy of my daughter’s newly created spring break playlist. The songs ebbed and flowed around…
Pearl was the only child who had her own code at the zoo building where I worked. Whoever saw her first was required to push the alert button on their walkie-talkie and send the message “Code Pearl” crackling over the radio system. Hearing those two words meant we were in for another crazy day. Pearl…
“I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.” ~Gandalf (J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit) I went into marriage with a chip on my shoulder and an escape plan firmly in place. Prickly, quick to anger, ready for a fight…