Vacation Bible School started on Monday. And literally out of the clear blue, my emotions tapped me on the shoulder and asked to cut in. A hard swallow. ✔️ Misty eyes. ✔️ A pattering heart. ✔️ All the feelings, all unexpected, all at day-one drop-off, all triggered by a song. I mean, a variety of things could have precipitated this sudden sentimental surge… like how ginormous their extra small t-shirts looked on them — my hair ties pulling the excess fabric into 100% cotton ponytails. Or how our 3-year-old boy bravely walked into an unfamiliar classroom with a quiet confidence, turning back for a reassuring hug and an “I love…
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Martha and Mary
I’m a Martha. A present-day, New Testament Martha. Here’s what I mean… As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing…
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It’s Okay If You’re Not Okay
“Please let me be the first to punch the next person who tells you everything happens for a reason.” I saw this recently and had to chuckle. Its adversary — “Everything happens for a reason”— has always been my jam. I mean, who doesn’t appreciate a glass half full mentality, right? I’m a gal who tries to throw optimism like confetti. Happy, happy, joy, joy. Lemons = lemonade. But apparently, there are highly-annoyed individuals ready to sock me in the nose. Ack! I get it, though. I do. No one wants to hear Miss Positive Pants celebrate every cloud’s silver lining… when some clouds are in fact dark and gray…
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Heaven
Heaven. It’s a beautiful mystery. Our finite minds — as hard as we may try — cannot comprehend its glorious infinity. “It would be like trying to describe the Internet to an ant,” Rick Warren says. So I will walk by faith — a faith susceptible to wavering, but a faith that is oh so strong. As though I’m crossing a balance beam, and I lose my footing. My arms flail, my body teeters, but my toes curl tight. And I hang on… knowing a mighty spotter is there if I fall. I lean not on my own understanding; I cling to amazing grace. How sweet the sound. A couple…
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Dear God
Dear God, Thank you for this day. I must profess… I am killin’ it today! Not once have I complained or grumbled. Nor have I been impatient or ungrateful. I have not disregarded any of my responsibilities or any of the people placed along my path. I have not fussed at my children. I have not overanalyzed, overreacted, or felt overcome by an overly overloaded To-Do list. The goings-on in the world have not threatened my joy, and I have not ingested an exorbitant amount of sugar. I have not gossiped or worried or been dishonest or generated excuses or required ten deep breaths or caused my hubby to wish…
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Not Everything Changes Though Everything is Different
This week I heard something that has stuck with me. “Not everything changes though everything is different.” When my dad went to Heaven on February 24, my world stopped. Yet the rest of the world kept going. I wanted to shout at the top of my lungs, “Hello people!!! I just lost my dad!!! Stop! Please just stop!!!” It seemed only fair. But the world didn’t stop. As a matter of fact, life went on. That included MY life. Day after day, things around me were very much the same (whether I liked it or not). The same responsibilities. The same routines. The same distractions. The same sunrises and the…
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Give It To God
Nowhere in the Bible does it say… “God will never give you more than you can handle.” It’s a nice sentiment, and it’s often said by nice people. But the truth is… sometimes we ARE given more than we can humanly handle. Life can feel crushingly heavy, to the point it’s hard to breath. So what do we do? We give our trial, our heartache, and our pain to the one who makes this promise, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you…