You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always. (Deuteronomy 11:1 ESV) “I forgot real quick,” my younger daughter says when I scold her for doing something I asked her not to do a few minutes earlier. Her brutal honesty is humorous after the…
Confession: I don’t really like Mother’s Day. For reasons similar to why I don’t like Valentine’s Day or Father’s Day, I think the sentiment feels forced. On these holidays, expectations tend to run exponentially higher and there’s a greater risk, therefore, of disappointment. Chocolates, flowers, handmade cards, and spa days are all great gifts and…
Flour frosted the kitchen like snow. A flour bin, a half-empty bottle of vegetable oil, and baking pans fought for territory on my counter. Little fingers thick with dough punched and kneaded gooey mounds. Lined up, varying heights on chairs and stools, three children made a ragged profile of chattering bakers. “Pooooof,” the littlest voice…
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. (Isaiah 43:19 NIV) My youngest child is close to losing his first tooth, and several times a day he makes the little incisor wiggle even more…
All my life I’ve had an internal drive to be the best and do it all in order to be considered valuable. This drive has often manifested as perfectionism. In school I strove to receive the top grades and most accolades, earning the title of valedictorian in both high school and college. I participated in…
My daughter is in that toddler stage. You know the one: the pulling-things-off-the-counter, scribbling-on-the-wall, face-smeared-in-peanut-butter stage. (Where did she even get that peanut butter? Oh, yes. From the puppy’s treat toy!) All this to say, my daughter is a busy one-and-a-half-year-old! She received a set of toy kitchen pots and pans for Christmas. Still, when…