For years, my kids and I have begged my husband to put up outdoor Christmas lights. For twenty plus years he has refused. He knows it’ll be a pain. He fears it will damage the house. I personally think he’s afraid it will look like the Griswold residence and doesn’t want the hassle. Finally, last year he conceded and bought …
Once upon a time, there lived a poor girl named Anna. Anna’s only talent was weaving. She lived with her mother in Salzburg, Austria until, on one fateful day, she met a soldier named Mohr who was stationed in her town. As their friendship grew, she fell in love with the dashing man, and felt nothing but joy when …
Writer, editor, mom, wife and friend Janyre Tromp sits down with me to talk about the messy stuff, and the fun stuff, in life. We talked about growing up in church and how Jesus doesn’t make things easy once you’re saved. From a hard home life to watching her daughter struggle to live, Janyre has walked through some dark valleys. …
This is the month many of us set aside to contemplate our blessings…or so we say. We see social media posts about gratitude, make holiday plans with our families and enjoy an abundance of rich, decadent food. I fear we’re choking on our wealth, empty inside from the striving to have more. Several years ago, I spoke at a woman’s …
I sat in my rickety lawn chair, waiting for folks to walk up our driveway and buy our old treasures and trinkets as part of our neighborhood garage sale. Things were slow. Granted, I didn’t have much to put out, but still, I’d hoped to make enough to put a dent in our Christmas budget. Sighing, I watched another car …
Redemption is a beautiful thing. There is something, dare I say, romantic about someone with power and position plucking a nobody from the crowd and claiming them as their own. Perhaps that’s why I’ve so frequently heard the Gospel compared to a fairy tale story. A king sweeping the lonely girl away to a land where all her dreams come …
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about avoidance. Trying to avoid the chocolate calling for me in the pantry. Avoiding too much screen time. Germs. Crowds. The scale. Overextending. Traffic. Snakes and spiders. The news. Avoiding staying up too late because I just can’t seem to put the book down. What I’ve slowly come to realize is most of these …
Lord, We come to Your feet, praising You for being the God You are–holy, all-powerful, King, and friend. Father, You hear the cries of Your children in Afghanistan and all over the world. You hold them in their darkest moments, when terror squeezes the breath from their chests. Be their peace. Be their hope. Give them courage. I ask, in …
I was getting a bit bored, driving through soggy rice fields on my way to a prison in Arkansas, preparing to speak to inmates on a drizzly Sunday morning. Maybe it was the lack of scenery that made me notice it. Maybe it’s because it was the only building around for miles other than a few silos. But when I …
