January always feels like a blank canvas or a pristine field of snow. It’s clean, free of regrets, and full of possibilities…

Can you recall when someone said a kind word or performed a small act of service for you? It probably wasn’t even logged into the fabric of their minds…

When I was a child, I remember singing “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart, down in my heart to STAY!” I thought the…

The idea of being a “thermostat” rather than a “thermometer” is a metaphor for how we approach our emotions and influence our family and home…

August is a month of great excitement in my house as everyone prepares to go back to school. I love summer, but after a few months of it…

In my last blog, we processed the power of one safe adult. Now let’s look at a powerful statement that might change the way you parent.  Have you…

Sometimes we’re experts at getting all up in other people’s business. We believe we know better, or that our advice is what they need. Everything from how to…

Aging is usually considered negative, and most people fear it or try to avoid it. It’s not something you look forward to or embrace. But there are so…

“Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down.” The wolf’s famous words in the story “The Three Little Pigs” always made me grin because…

We all have different experiences in life, and those experiences have shaped us into who we are today. There have been good times in our lives when we were riding cloud nine, and we felt like life was going smoothly. And there have been times when we’ve felt like we were at the end of our rope and stuck in a valley. 

I LOVE feeding people, especially my family. I DO NOT LOVE, however, a dinner table that feels like a battleground. Can you relate?

For me, back to school is a better reset then New Years! Here are 5 routine ideas to start during back to school:

Have you ever thought about the blessing it is that God gives us new mornings? Now, I am really not a morning person. I like to stay up late, so when my alarm goes off it’s usually greeted with grunting and a very angry hitting of my snooze button. But think about it. God could have created us to just be awake all the time, but instead, we go to sleep at night and wake up to tackle a new day. Why would I call this a blessing?

Have you ever had someone try to hold you to a perfect standard that just wasn’t possible to attain? I am a terrible artist, and it would be like someone holding up the Mona Lisa to me and expecting me to paint a perfect copy. It’s impossible! But so often as women we find ourselves carrying the terrible burden of trying to live up to this crazy standard.

Raising two boys has caused me to despise the word “good.” It seems as though any question I ask is often answered with that word. How was school? Good. How was church? Good. How was your sleepover? Good. It drives me bonkers! 

We all walk through seasons of dry times where we travel a dusty and weary land. We traipse across the barren landscape, parched and in need of some refreshing. We carry backpacks full of worry, disappointment, to-do lists, or weariness while searching for relief.

I loved going to the fair or carnivals as a child. Living in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, the big event was Rooster Days each May. All the fun and festivities a girl and her friends could want. Of course, whether at the fair or strolling Main St in my hometown, we couldn’t resist the lure of the arcade games. One in particular fascinated me. As a softball and basketball player, I loved anything that required eye-hand coordination or speed and skill. So, I would always wander to the Whack-A-Mole game.

I often find myself watching my son or daughter doing something adorable and think, “You are the most precious thing in the world. How can you be so precious?” Then immediately after that thought leaves my mind, this thought comes racing in, “How much more precious am I to God, than these children are to me?” 

Summer is over. A season spent outdoors with moments of swimming and enjoying the water. Do you remember when your kids first entered the pool? Maybe it was just to splash as a baby. How much paraphernalia did you put on them? Floaties, pool noodles, rafts, and anything else that would protect them and keep them safe.

God is greater than anything. Do you believe that? We’ve probably all believed in God’s power for our friend or family member’s circumstances, but it’s much harder to accept it for ourselves because it’s personal and we’re enmeshed in the situation.