To my children's consternation, I had just announced chicken for dinner. Internally, I prepared myself for the clean-your-plate dance that I knew the evening would entail. No one likes chicken in my family. Well, perhaps "no one” is a little strong. But outside of Chick-fil-A and the corresponding magical Polynesian sauce, the individuals in my [...]
Eyes tightly scrunched, all around the table. Fingers twined together. Heads bowed. This is how I grew up participating in the before-meal ritual enacted all over the world amongst those of faith—praying before a meal. If you grew up in a family of faith with real people, or raised children yourself, you can probably guess [...]
Approximately 5,942 waves on the North Padre National Seashore have been jumped, ridden, and splashed through in the past 24 hours. Sand castles, shovels, digging in the sand, reading a paperback, running on the beach and lounging on a towel—these days have contained everything good and right and beautiful about a weekend at the seashore. [...]
This summer I finished the 752-page history of Rome, "Caesar and Christ" by Will Durant. It traces the history of the Roman civilization and the rise of Christianity from their beginnings to A.D. 325. Full of fascinating history and interesting anecdotes, the book charts the stories of Commodus, Trajan, Hadrian, Tiberius and the rest like [...]
If you were to join us for a family movie night on a weekend, you would discover some of our traditions and weird foibles: One child grabs a picnic blanket to spread out on the ground in anticipation of dinner and a movie. (We pronounce it "pick-n-ick," in the voice of Daws Butler from the [...]
This summer marks the third year that the kids and I have participated in the National Bible Bee Summer Study. This ministry and study hold a happy place in my heart—I am delighted to have photographed their national competition the last several years, and they have introduced the discipline of Bible study to my oldest [...]
My phone vibrated one afternoon this week. "I'm in a pickle! My car broke down running errands…might you be able to come pick us up?" My friend and two of her young children were about 20 minutes away, waiting in the hot South Texas sun next to a pile of car seats and bags. Conveniently, [...]
Do you wear a wedding ring on your left hand? Remember that happy day when you were engaged? Everything that you did was about and for your fiancé. Their every preference on the forefront of your mind; you arranged entire schedules and commitments so that you could spend as much time with them as possible. [...]
The past several weeks, I have become “a regular” at our local coffee shop. The kids have been enjoying summer camp, and I take myself and my laptop to Local, claim a corner, and finesse words. It’s a good summer thus far! Two observations from working in a coffee shop: 1. God is very much at [...]
AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais This weekend, I listened to my husband recount the story of Fort McHenry to our children, and I was reminded that the story we all learned in fourth grade is worth revisiting. The United States declared war on its old colonial authority on June 17, 1812. Tired of British impressment of [...]
