Brighter than Spring

It's hard to believe it's been a year since this pandemic started. An entire year of social-distancing, masks, and a whole lot of plexi glass. Finally, there seems to be a hint of spring in the air, a glimmer of hope that we might be able to return to "normal." But I realize not everyone …

When God Could Use Someone Great, But Uses You

  "You've got this." Sometimes we just need someone to say these words to us. Those are the words I whispered to myself the other day as I was scrolling through a bazillion images on Pinterest, Etsy and the like. Somehow I have found myself helping to plan a new young mom's ministry, and helping of …

Because Today, I Can

This morning the intense Texas summer sun came through my bedroom window, and there was this resolve in me that ... it would be a good day. So with everyone in the family still asleep, I awoke first as I usually do, and whispered to our dog Summer, "C'mon girl, let's go outside so you can do …

The Night My Life Got Quiet, Too Quiet

This past weekend, I had a bit of a health crisis. I was getting ready to go to bed on a perfectly normal Saturday night when all of a sudden my world fell quiet, literally quiet- and not in a nice, peaceful way. It felt as if someone had pressed my left ear against a thick wall. In all …

What I am Remembering From the One Who is Forgetting

Sometimes you can just spend a couple of hours with someone, but it can change the way you see the rest of your life. A couple of weekends ago, on a trip back to California, I visited my eighty-something year old aunt who is now living in a home for those with memory loss. She has …

The Courage No One Sees

They say courage doesn't always roar. If we listen carefully though, everyone is battling something. And I know now, to never take for granted the struggles some people face, even when I can't see them. For many years, I lived with what people would call an "invisible illness." In the fall of 2012, I relapsed with …

Loneliness in the Church

It feels strange to say this. But I think the church can be one of the loneliest places of all. Now I believe, to be human, is to feel to some extent, alone at times. We all experience change, loss, feelings of misplacement. Somewhere along the way, we will be intentionally or unintentionally left out, misunderstood, looked over. This …

Second Guessing Your Journey

At times you have to take a certain road for a destination you can't fully see. This past summer, we packed our car and drove across the country to the flat, green prairie lands of Texas - a place we never imagined we'd call home. It has been an adventure, and we have met so many new people. Our world has …

A Piece of Home Again

I will be flat out lying if I said my boys, just two years apart, get along all the time. Sometimes it's a daily war over the littlest things. Part of it is that they are so different from each other. One goes fast, the other slow. One likes bold flavors... the other, nothing but vanilla. "I want a different brother!!!" …

Suffering Well

Ian MacLaren, a noted Scotsman, once said these wise words of counsel, “Be kind. Everyone you meet is carrying a heavy burden.” By no means do I feel I have suffered more than others, or that I have unique insight into pain. I trust we have all walked through difficulties- an illness, injury, loss, injustice, …