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 [...]
Half off! Buy one, get one free! Save $49! We all love a good deal. Coupons entice us to step into a store, try something new, or go out of our way to purchase an item. The value of a coupon is not in the paper it is printed on or the bits and bytes [...]
The movie "Chariots of Fire" came out two years before I was born. It is the phenomenal tale of Eric Liddell, known as the Flying Scotsman. A strong believer competing in the 1924 Paris Olympics, Chariots of Fire tells how Eric decided not to run in a heat for the 100-meter race because it was [...]
Photography became a passion of mine years ago, and I love running a side business of event, wedding, and family portraiture. Photography is a powerful tool to visually communicate powerful concepts. I passionately believe that every person has a story, and I love using a camera to help them tell it! Allow me to chat [...]
Do you have a dream germinating inside of you? A passion you have a hard time even defining? Do people step back a bit when they first meet you, because they didn't expect someone so…passionate, so alive? Or you have a quiet, burning intensity deep, deep inside you. Everything you do today is colored by [...]
It's a rite of passage that now, as a parent myself, I realize every parent anticipates: the day when your child takes over mowing the lawn. And though I had pushed a lawn mower through the yard countless times and been checked out on the driving lawn mower, I still remember the day I learned [...]
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, [...]
