Joy and Presence

Just a note…I have missed sharing this space with you all. So through prayer and planning, my goal is to post here twice a month. I hope you are blessed. Where Joy is Found You [the LORD] reveal the path of life to me;in your presence is abundant joy;at your right hand are eternal pleasures. Psalm…

Ash Wednesday Fail

Yesterday was the first day of the Lenten season. I did not grow up observing Lent, but as I began to read about this season the more I felt drawn to it. 46 days including Sundays and Maudy Thursday, Good Friday, and the day before Easter. Yes 46 days to focus on Christ…to begin in…

How to Choose Joy

Nehemiah 8:10 says, “…Do not grieve for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” And grief it is natural to this sinful world. It oozes into the beautiful moments of life… When someone near us should be there, but isn't. When what is reminds us of a should have been. And the ache threatens…

In Silence He Moves

I never imagined being here — in seminary, homeschooling, blogging, choir, and maybe more. I didn't really ask for this life…I just followed the path God laid before me and here I am… It doesn't make sense. I never would have started seminary if I knew I'd be homeschooling… Blogging and writing and speaking and…

Memorial Day 2013

Today we are to remember. Remember the price of freedom and those who died so we could be free. Today we remember freedom isn't free. It is hard fought. We think of the hundreds of thousands of souls who stood and died to protect our nation. Those who fought so we could be independent. Those…

Finding Joy

Rain. It fell sporadically throughout the morning.   The clouds hid the rising sun and it fit.   This morning wasn't going to bring the hope of a new day. It was the day my fears would be confirmed. The day my doctor drew blood. The test would say what the home test told me…

Praying for Revival

Father God thank You for being Holy – completely different than me. I praise You for Your goodness and mercy. Thank You for grace unimaginable. Oh my God You are so patient with me. Thank You for making a wretch like me Your treasure. Thank You for Jesus who died so I could live. Forgive…

Lent not Lint

I have always loved singing praises to God and songs, well, I can figure them out pretty quickly. So before I could read I would sing praises to Jesus with gusto. One Sunday morning I sat in a blue plastic chair next to my parents and siblings. The white tile floor of the community center…

A Prayer for Wisdom

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5   Father God I need wisdom. I am a messy broken child who thinks too well of her intellect. Forgive me for relying on myself. Help me not…

Praying for the USA

Father God thank You for the USA. Thank You for Your grace and mercy on our country. We are not perfect, we have made many mistakes and continue to make mistakes. Oh God I lift our government up to You. There is corruption and we are far from our founding principles. I cannot see a…

God In Us

I ruined Christmas and it was only breakfast. I flung careless words that scraped and bruised. Defeat shone in my husband's eyes. I stained and marked a day that was supposed to be fun and joyous with anger and frustration. I asked my husband to forgive my careless words. He forgave, but the hurt lingered….

The Light of Day

I found myself and my three kids in a very smelly bathroom that only had two stalls. (It is ok you can go ahead and snicker. . . I know you are laughing at me) When we first walked in the bathroom E dashed into the first stall and L tried to take the second….

The Towers Fell

Today is the day we remember. . . Towers falling, planes crashing, people jumping, heroes made and lost. We remember the thousands of lives lost. . . each one had a life song. . . Images of chaos, blood, smoke, dust, and ash fill our minds. Reminders. But do we really remember? Do we walk…

Memory Monday. . .

  Happy Labor Day everyone! I hope you are having a GREAT weekend. Last week I had one of “those” days. The kind where you can't get the motion activated water in public restrooms to work, the soap sprays everywhere, a delayed flight, what was supposed to be a one hour lay-over turned into a…

Pressing In

Some days lay us low, stress us out, and there we stand as if naked – our sin and faults airing dirty. Our dreams of the picture perfect family and getting ready for school without drama shatter about us. Those days hang heavy as God gently but firmly chisels away the yuck to free us…

Faith, Hope, and Love

“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13 Faith, hope, and love I often wondered about these three. They all seemed so docile and personal. Depending on where I place my hope, faith and love these things could lead to selfishness and self-righteousness. This…

Hunger

“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. ” Psalm 84:1-2 My stomach made that crazy loud empty sound and I felt like I hadn't eaten in weeks. It had only been…

Finally…

I did it. Finally. . . I finished memorizing the book of James. I thought it would take me about 6 months, instead it took over a year. . . SIGH. The good thing is I am now DONE! I am doing a happy dance. I plan on reciting James in a YouTube video in…

Time for Joy

There are times when life weighs heavy and laughter is difficult to find. Times when: men open fire on a full movie theater… adults use and abuse children they are to protect… people ignore signs of abuse to protect their image… jobs are hard to find… the future seems dark and twisted… dear friends move…

S’mores and Sin

S’mores – that warm, gooey, chocolate-y, and graham cracker treat most often reserved for camp-outs – have come to my kitchen. About the beginning of June each year stores begin to sell marshmallows next to chocolate and graham crackers. I resist the urge for a few trips to the store, but it doesn’t last long….

Something New

My four-year-old son wailed as we walked through Wal-Mart. “My…legs…HURT. CARRY ME mommy!” He flopped to the floor and dropped the bottle of cleanser I asked him to carry. One of my girls reached down and picked up his Soft Scrub. I stopped and turned to her. “No,” I told her. “He needs to carry…

Titus 2:11-14

Pondering Titus 2:11-14 today. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior,…

Breathe Out

“Humph,” my L grunted as she took a breath while swimming. “Humph.” Her grunts came closer together the longer she swam. Neither her swimming instructor nor I could figure out why she grunted. The next time she did her freestyle down the length of the pool I watched her carefully. As she turned her head…

As Time Slips Away

These moments are slipping away. I rocked my boy today because tomorrow he may not let me. I held my oldest child's hand because soon she will be too big. I picked up my middle girl because soon she will be too big. The moments slip, but each new moment holds something good, something different….

Today…

Today I will have about 22 people running around my house 11 kids (two are teenagers) and 11 adults. I may be crazy, but I am super excited to spend some time with my family. We will play, swim, talk, laugh, pray, eat, drink, and enjoy each other. We may even see some fireworks (if…

Unclean Lips

“You have something on your face right. . .there,” I pointed at my face in the approximate position my girl needed to wipe her face.   “No I don't,” she shook her head and stamped her foot.   Anger flashed in my eyes and my heart clenched. I took a quick breath.   “Father help…

Two Legs

“My LEGS HURT!” my boy wails and thrashes on the floor.   I raise my eyebrows as he looks at me.   “I. . .can't. . .walk.”   “You can walk,” I nod. “God gave two legs. You are healthy. Now go to your room.”   His temper rises and he screams angry at me….

Perspective

“I miss the old Disney movies like The Lion King,” the clerk in the airport said. I smiled and thought, “He thinks the ‘The Lion King’ is old?! How old does he think I am?” That got me thinking about perspective. It colors how I view what is old and new. It helps me offer…

Explosive Situations

“Are you serious?” I asked the TSA agent incredulously. “My hands tested positive for explosives?” At 4:00 AM that morning my husband and I woke up. Fifteen minutes later we roused our three children (ages 9, 6, and 4). By 4:45 AM the five of us were on our way to the airport. We checked…

Discovering Grace

My first lesson about grace didn’t happen in church. At seven I opened the door of my heart to Jesus. I knew I sinned, I knew He died and rose again for me, but somehow I missed grace. I grew-up thinking the Christian faith logical. Anyone smart enough to look would discover God is God…

Mentors and Mentees

“The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8 What a great promise that God is there before us, is with us, and never leaves us. Do you know who is speaking these words? It…

Thirsting for God

This is a journal entry I wrote while at a ladies retreat. I was reflecting on the following verses: Psalm 42:1-2 1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with…

Saturdays are for…

Chillaxin’….However that is not easy with three kids, but I do find my quiet time somehow. Time to be with my Lord! Friend time…A birthday celebration. Watch basketball…March Madness is in full swing! LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! Enjoy the beautiful weather….(this is an old picture…my grass is not that green yet) Get my hair cut…

Coffee Stains…

So my attitude has been terrible lately…. Bad attitude about events I needed to attend Bad attitude about potty training Bad attitude about cleaning my house Bad attitude about writing Bad attitude….I prayed my attitude would not infect others. I believe mostly I kept it between God and I…There was that one morning…My bad attitude…

Have Mercy!

Someone asked me knowing what I know now what I would tell my sixteen-year-old self if I could go back in time. Sixteen…Driving…High School…After school job…Kansas Bible Camp…Debate/Forensics (speaking tournaments not CSI type stuff)…Youth Group… I was the “good little Christian girl.” I carried my Bible to school. I helped lead a Bible Study (held…

Why Pray?

If God’s plans can’t be thwarted, if He is omniscient, if He is omnipotent, then why pray? What difference does it really make? Logically it doesn’t make sense. And yet: God tells us to pray… Ephesians 6:18 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in…

Do I Really Pray?

I am studying the book of Daniel in Bible Study. I struggle studying prophecy. I just don’t have pertinent historical facts filed away in my brain. Then there are about as many ways to interpret prophecy as there are people. So the prophetic portions of Daniel have taught me three things. God has a plan,…

Doubting

“Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25) I imagine Thomas said these words with tears in his eyes, arms crossed, and maybe with a foot stamp at the end just for emphasis….

I was Smart, Once

I used to know a lot more than I do now. I had the best opinions about everything. I knew how to solve complicated problems because I was right. I was going to be President. It would be easy, I already had all the answers. I didn’t have experience, but I didn’t need it. I…

Am I Crazy?

Am I crazy? The question rattled around in my brain and down to my heart. The silence was deafening. My heart beat quickened as I twisted myself into a pretzel. Stomach on the bed, rear in the air, twisting enough to get that injection in my hip. I knew I didn’t want the soreness putting…

Offering…

Ding-Dong! DIIINNNNGGGG-DOOONNNNGGGG! Rap-rap-rap-rap. Inwardly I sigh. My mind begins to roll. Didn’t I just send them outside to play? Isn’t their dad outside with them? I am just trying to get dinner started! UGH!!! I am being interrupted. Reluctantly I turn the water off and slowly with mind still churning and frustration mounting I plod…

My Hero…

Last week I got a call from my sister. She was preparing a devotional talk for the inmates at a woman’s prison. She and several other women go to the jail to play basketball with the inmates and share Christ with them. She had a great idea about what to share, but needed some direction….

A Soul Healing

My soul feels raw. As if it had been drug down a carpeted hall at break-neck speed. A dry, burning, prickly raw-ness that hurts, hints, points and practically begs to be noticed… Oh, but I am too busy. Want to read the rest? It is over at (in)courage. I have the honor of being one…

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