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Hosting Guests with Food Allergies
Do you ever wonder how to host family and friends who have food allergies or intolerances? I’m excited to share some do’s and don’t’s today over at My Home Tableau where my friend Johanna writes about...
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It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Unless you’re walking down the street and you call your neighbor by the wrong name. Solution? Make a mini-map of your neighborhood with your neighbor’s names and any contact information you might...
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Oh the Chaos!
I generally avoid chaos. I’m a major introvert and just can’t handle it very often. But when my extended family gets together chaos ensues. And I must admit, I love it. I love watching the...
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Relational Limits
With the holidays approaching, we often put high expectations on relationships. The sentimental Christmas music makes us want to be home for Christmas and kiss under the mistletoe. The classic...
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I Will Miss You
I’ll miss the mountains! For those of you who don’t know, our family is moving (which, along with having a 5 month old, explains the scarcity of posts lately). Dan has taken a new ministry role in...
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A Story of Privilege; An Acknowledgment of All I Don’t Know
© 2014 Elvert Barnes, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio I have a brother who likes to push back against authority. My brother who’s been known to correct a teacher. And a police officer. My brother who...
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Why I Gossip and How I’ve (Mostly) Stopped
I hate to admit that I struggle with gossip. I’d rather downplay it. The reality is, I don’t gossip with very many people. And therefore I’ve justified it as okay. But it’s not. And I’d like to say...
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Even So Come Quickly
© 2010 Barbara Müller-Walter, Flickr | CC-BY-ND | via Wylio This world aches and groans. Disease. Brokenness. Inequality. Racism. Injustice. Poverty. Flat-out meanness. I could just cry over the...
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Service Doesn’t Start in the Soup Kitchen
© 2005 Elvert Barnes, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio It’s that time of year again. The bells are ringing outside the grocery store. The churches are pushing for mission’s funding. The commercials are...
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A New Just Wait
© 2013 Dave Taylor, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio “You think being a kid is tough? Just wait until you have to pay your own bills.” “You think long hours at work are tough? Just wait until you have long...
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When You Feel Paralyzed by the World Around You
Some days it hits you all at once. Your husband is out of town, the kids are screaming for daddy, and as you try to mind-numb with Facebook you see this little boy sleeping in the same position as...
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What We’re Really Saying When We Pretend to Have it All Together
I’m a notoriously bad faker. Nothing exhausts me more than plastering on a smile when I’d rather be curled up in bed reading a book or crying under my covers. But I’m a mom and a pastor’s wife and a...
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Buggies, Shopping Carts, and Carriages
© 2013 breki74, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio One of the first things you notice upon arriving in a new region of our incredibly diverse country, is the local accent. This is quickly followed by...
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When You’re Vacillating Between Jealousy and Judgment
My life often feels a bit countercultural. We haven’t done preschool. We homeschool. We only have one car. (And a moped). The four of us live in a two bedroom apartment. We try to embrace our limits....
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On What We Deserve
Recently I was watching Hulu when a commercial for a hotel came on. It pictured parents in one room and their kids in an adjoining room loudly jumping on the beds. The dad was opening and closing the...
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The Unedited Version
I used to look back through my journals and panic because my writing was so negative. I began to wonder if my past was just a big jumble of hurt. Then I realized I don’t really journal. Journaling...
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Sibling Stories
Because who doesn’t have a random picture with their siblings in the middle of the road? Every time we get together we tell the same stories. We laugh about one brother pushing the other through the...
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For Everyone Who Ever Grew Up
Maybe you were labeled the class clown. The shy one. The reckless one. The know-it-all. Maybe you were the smart one. The one going places. Maybe your current reality doesn’t match their fantasy....
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On Assumptions
As we finish up our week, what if we set aside our assumptions? About our spouse’s motives. About what’s going on inside our kid’s head. About our coworkers’ intentions. What if instead we ask...
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A Prayer of Confession
This morning, We confess that we’ve been silent. Not standing up for the weak and powerless. We confess that we’ve allowed our stubborness to get in the way of really listening to those whose lives...
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