This week officially kicks off our summer vacation! My kids are both elated and scared—elated to be done with early mornings and rushed evenings; scared to lose touch with close friends and favorite teachers. I’ve been working on connecting with parents of friends and getting teachers’ addresses so we can all stay in touch. Even… Continue reading Three Ways to Thrive This Summer
Tag: Jesus
Why It’s So Hard to Be Patient with People
It's easy to talk about love when there is no conflict. It's easy to stand in a brightly lit hall, surrounded by a hundred smiling faces and listen to the preacher tell you how "love is patient and kind," but as offenses mount, love, patience, and kindness are no longer easy to swallow.
If Chaos is Controlling Your Family
Two things never cease to amaze me: 1) How quickly life moves from calm to chaos 2) How God consistently provides—especially in the chaos. The last five days of my life have been like something from a comedy show. If I were watching myself on TV, it would be hilarious. It's one of those segments… Continue reading If Chaos is Controlling Your Family
The Need for Rest
Yesterday, as I reviewed my retirement accounts with my financial advisor, she commented, "Retirement looks much different now than in years past. People used to retire and live a leisure life; these days, people pick up another job just to stay busy." She is right, of course, although I believe there are more factors than… Continue reading The Need for Rest
The Trouble With Praying for Patience
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." ~ Galatians 5.22, ESV Have you ever prayed for patience? What happened? In my experience, whenever I have asked the Lord to give me patience, He answered by providing opportunities to develop patience. I wanted the actual… Continue reading The Trouble With Praying for Patience
When You Feel Stuck in Monotonous Duties
God has the power to take what is ordinary and make it truly extraordinary. Give every task---significant or insignificant---to the God who sees in secret.
Why we all need accountability partners to keep our faith strong
Near the beginning of 2018, a friend invited me to a small Facebook group comprised of people seeking to eat healthier and be more physically fit. For the month of March, the administrator posted a challenge for us to meet a daily step count or mileage goal. Prior to this challenge, I had been hitting… Continue reading Why we all need accountability partners to keep our faith strong
Why You Can’t Keep Delaying Forgiveness
Last spring, we decided to remove the bushes and rocks from our front planter bed and add a better variety of plants. Once the bed was clear of roots and rocks, we laid a strong weed barrier over every inch of dirt. We laid out our plants, cut small holes in the weed barrier, and… Continue reading Why You Can’t Keep Delaying Forgiveness
Are you chasing death or seeking life?
After two years of living in ag-lovin' West Texas, I finally had my first brush with a rodeo. My son tried out for an event called "Mutton Bustin.'" If you've never heard of this little rite of passage, I'll sum it up for you: young kids get plopped on the back of a sheep and… Continue reading Are you chasing death or seeking life?
Social Media Ground Rules For Your Children
We take so much care with driver’s training, yet so little care with technology training. Our electronic devices provide children access to one of the most powerful and dangerous tools of our age—the internet. Occasionally, we are lulled into a false belief that parental controls will prevent our children from being “one of those kids”—those who post inappropriate pictures, suffer from bullying, or get lured away by predators.
