Last fall, I unexpectedly encountered someone I haven’t seen in decades. Mercifully, it was in a crowded setting where we did not have to interact, and I don’t think he ever saw me. I didn’t even recognize him at first. But when I was young and impressionable, that person-across-the-way deeply impacted my life through manipulative…
Category: Grow as a Church Member
USING THOSE MUSCLES AGAIN
Two springs ago, we were in Georgia on a road trip, and our van needed attention. Doug and Mae went into town with the van, and I spent the day with 7 of our sons on the approach trail to the Appalachian Trail. We had hiked a steep two miles uphill to see Amicalola Falls…
Peopled-Out, by Facebook
As a mom, there is a limited amount of time I have for people outside of our four walls, but Facebook is sneaky. It makes me FEEL like I can commit fully to people both inside, and outside, of our walls. The problem is, after devouring hours of social media each week, I feel “peopled…
Christians, Cribs, & Co-Sleeping (Is it “Heartless” for a Baby to Sleep in a Separate Bed?)
Let me start out by saying this: I am pretty sure I have done it all. I’ve slept with a baby on my chest or in the crook of my arm– on the first night, in the hospital, in my bed at home after home births, and (accidentally) in a chair when I was trying to stay…
The Elusive Titus 2 Woman
Virtually everywhere we have lived, I’ve heard it– younger women lamenting the lack of wise women who can give them solid biblical teaching, & biblical encouragement. Titus 2 describes an older woman who is: reverent in behavior (appropriate, respectful, respectable, godly) not slanderers (gossipy) not slaves to too much wine (drunks) able to train/teach younger…
A Christmas Giving Tradition You Can Do WITH Your Kids
This is a sponsored post. One of our family traditions is to use the Christmas season as an opportunity to GIVE. Beyond our personal giving (Christmas gifts to one another), each holiday season brings an opportunity to reevaluate the charities and ministries we give to. Over the years, one ministry we have consistently participated in is Operation Christmas…
“A Sober Estimate”– 40 Questions for Personal Revival
Romans 12 challenges us to righty, soberly assess ourselves and our faith. “I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” ~Romans 12:3 Amidst non-stop workweeks, exhausting weekends, kids that need daily correction and meals, sin and sorrow, never-ending…
It Takes Courage to Submit
“It takes incredible amount of courage and strength to go against the grain of what people want you to be.” ~Janet Mock, trans advocate, in a documentary about Bruce Jenner’s recent ESPN award No it doesn’t. It doesn’t take strength at all to go your own way. That is what comes naturally. This is the human…
Are You Believing This Lie About Love?
“I have spoken these things to you so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. This is My command: Love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:11-12) Driving down the highway, I voiced my frustrations to the Lord about a friend. I listed out criticisms and hurts,…
11 Things I’ve Learned About Being a Pastor’s Wife
I’ve been a Pastor’s wife for three and a half years. The first two of those years, my husband was an administrative pastor, which was a very different thing from the counseling and discipleship pastoral role he has now. It’s not been very long, really, but it’s been long enough to have learned a few things and made…