Coffee Mugs & Context Clues 6/16/2021 - Each day’s reading starts off with a prayer that I really appreciate. I make the same five requests of God each day. Supplication number four is, “God, correct any lies I believe about you or anything I misunderstand.” From the onset, this has really resonated with me. It has also prompted me to pay more attention to the pretty pictures with clipped verses I’ve always loved to share on my social media pages. In an effort to just offer an encouraging word, I might be selling a verse short by not sharing more of the verse or offering some context... Read more
Words Matter 6/9/2021 - Buzzfeed quizzes are my guilty pleasure. My most recent was “The Pixar characters you choose will reveal what you should order for dinner tonight.” I’m here for all of it! While Buzzfeed claims they can tell me my summer aesthetic or what member of the Kardashian family I am, they don’t have a quiz that can tell me what person from the Bible I am! No, this isn’t a Kingdom issue, but Podcasters I listen to know theirs, and I’m a follower! I’m not Jacob, I’m much too weak to wrestle with Jesus. I’m not Esther, I’m not brave enough for such a time as this. I’m not confident enough to refer to myself as “the one that Jesus loved,” like John. I am Elihu! And here’s why... Read more
Where Have You Gone? 6/3/2021 - A name came up last week that I hadn’t thought about in a prolonged period of time. My initial thought was “I really miss them being around”. Then my follow up thought was “Why do I miss them?”. The answer had many layers but one foundation. They were unusually kind, intelligent-but not “letters after your name smart” just thoroughly knowledgeable about the most practical things of God, gentle, helpful, not a leader, but someone I wanted to be like as a friend, spouse, and parent, generous but not rich, prayerful, and selfless... Read more
Purpose In The Pain 5/26/2021 - This past Friday night my husband and I had plans to go to dinner with friends. Those plans got derailed when my husband got a phone call from our youngest son’s friend. Kai and a group of his friends were hanging out at a lake house after school. (I’m glad his friend called my husband because I know my mind would have gone a thousand different places). Turns out he dislocated his shoulder. My husband went and picked Kai up and rushed him to the emergency room. He was in SO much pain. Probably the most pain I have ever seen or heard him in... Read more
Drawn to the Light 5/19/2021 - For many years, I served as a youth leader. I had to do many things outside of my comfort zone. I blobbed, zip-lined, wall climbed and I’ve been dropped from the top of a telephone pole in a harness. I have been physically covered in mud, refried beans, buttermilk, chocolate syrup, water then flour, duct tape and chewed up bubble gum. I have been a referee, a surrogate mom, a nurse and a psychiatrist. I have hidden in trees, run un-winnable races, been a human foosball and played “dead” while a group of pre-teens carried me to “safety.” I loved it all. Mostly. Read more