As I think through this day, my plans include three meals, two snacks, multiple water and milk fill-ups, and countless messes to clean up in a kitchen with toddlers. Food is a part of life. It's necessary. Without it, we literally shrivel up and die. The lunch meal, in all of its simplicity, is enjoyed. [...]
My five-year-old climbed a rock wall. His legs shook. His eyes flitted. Yet he still climbed. From my position directly underneath him, I could see his entire little body shaking as he paused on each handhold, simultaneously craving the security of the earth and the allure of the platform above. As he stood on the [...]
Have you ever had church outside of church? Have you ever been on a mission trip in a foreign country, and all the sudden you're awash with emotion, feeling, and the confidence that you're right where God wants you, doing exactly what He wants you to do? You're in communion with Him from the start [...]
A fleet-footed, swift, fluid runner I am not. I don't jaunt out on a 5-mile run for the fun of it. I don't relish the feeling of pavement beneath my feet, wind in my hair, and my heart pounding in my chest. I have no idea what the ever-elusive "runner's high" even feels like. No, [...]
"Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it. And Scrooge's name was good upon 'Change for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead [...]
The first fat drops begin to fall, and I still have about four more passes with the lawn mower before I can consider my job "done." It starts with a vengeance as I begin pushing the mower through the wide wooden gate, drizzling down my hair and face and washing the lawn with fresh spring. [...]
Her wavy long light brown hair, free-spirited, slightly messy, and stunning as always, flowed behind her as she ran down the hallway, clutching her floral notebook, her sparkly purse hanging crossbody from shoulder to hip. Ella is curious and bright, with a hint of mischief hiding in her chestnut eyes. We struck up a conversation [...]
In my young 20s, I roomed with a gal who became a dear friend. Much to my simple-makeup-wearing-self's amazement, Elizabeth actually had a makeup routine. One step in her routine always made me chuckle as we were putting makeup on side by side in the mirror: she would take her blow dryer, direct the heat [...]
Every time I pick up a pen, I'm outside of my comfort zone. When I carry a camera in my hands, I sometimes feel incapable of capturing the scene that I see in my heart. The humblest tools of a pen and a camera become the most debilitating. Who am I to think I can [...]
I have a bad habit. My husband knows it, and still loves me. I sometimes hide it, but it's always there. Here it is: I am a chronic tab user. My Web browser is chock full of open tabs. Let me explain. I use bookmarks, I do. I save links. But if I'm simply [...]
