This summer our family took on a new title: baseball family. My oldest son is playing in a Coach Pitch league, and baseball has become a big part of our week. Each Tuesday I load up all the kids with their equipment, fidget spinners, and Pokémon cards, and head to practice. My younger kids and…
My three-year-old prides herself on waking up before her five-year-old sister. She often climbs into bed with me as my husband gets ready for work and announces, “Sister is still sleeping!” Then she sometimes asks, “Where are we going today?” On one such recent morning, I answered, “School,” as it was a Thursday and she…
A few years ago my husband and I drove to a nearby state park in our new community in West Texas. Our souls were thirsty for beauty and fresh air, and we anticipated a day of exploring and hiking around a lake. I envisioned a pristine source of water. When we arrived at the parking…
I used to hold onto everything as tightly as I could–material possessions, places, talents, jobs, relationships. I attempted to maintain control, terrified I might let something slip through the cracks. I strove for perfection and grieved each and every change, failure, and loss as a sign of my own powerlessness. Then, as I became a…
I’m a literal person. I struggle to enjoy stories with unrealistic, abstract concepts like time travel or multiple dimensions. I suppose I like everything, even my entertainment, to be neat and tidy and linear. (This is probably why I love Disney movies so much.) As soon as I was old enough to understand that God…
As I turned on the Spotify playlist, my eleven-year-old daughter rolled her eyes. “I had that song in my head all day yesterday!” I smiled. That’s exactly the point, I thought. She may not realize it, but I carefully choose each song in our morning playlist. I intend their messages to get into her head…