No one more than I loves comfy, serene, and beautiful places. And yet, it’s only from times of agitation that I have seen myself grow beyond what I thought I was capable of. I don’t like this any more than you. We are creatures of comfort and I’m all about creating cozy, inviting spaces in
Why do you think you can do it all and not wear yourself down? Everyone needs margin to rest, reset and refuel. One day at a time. That’s what we were created for, to only handle so much and then let it go and rest. It’s when we try to take on more than what
What will our story . . . your story be? People naturally find comfort in seeking to be around those that reflect their version of normal, or those with whom they have a lot in common. Every person whatever the race, ethnicity, generation, gender, or socioeconomic status has a tendency to drift this way. It
You are not defeated! Feeling defeat and being defeated are two different things. It’s so easy to feel defeat when the story isn’t over. And let me tell you, if you are breathing, the story isn’t over! There is nothing worse, in my mind than finishing a day of work, or the time you have
We all need people! Loved ones, friends, peers, even those we disagree with, mentors near and far, and those that we influence. Our family didn’t toast glasses of sparkling cider at midnight like usual this New Year’s Eve. I love traditions like this as they somehow connect us to the past, present and future all
Loving people we disagree with isn’t easy, and yet, I feel God convicting my own heart all over again. God calls us to love others and live unoffended, and not give others control over our emotions or how we live out our future. Learning to love others well, when it’s hard, is God’s best for
Friends show up as strangers, it’s up to us to make friendships. Forever friends keep showing up in all the seasons of our lives. Sitting in the quietness of my friend’s finished basement with a pumpkin spice coffee, is a huge gift to my heart. Her guest room is welcoming and a familiar place like
There are messages to be delivered, projects to be completed and battles to be won. God uses unlikely people to accomplish His will. I dreaded speech class in college, but I got an A in spite of heart palpitations every time I had to speak in front of the class. I liked writing, but I
By the grace of God I didn’t act on my thoughts or feelings that day. My husband texted me that he was at my office and asked if I could take an early lunch. I couldn’t. I began to think of how he could go get us lunch, bring it back and by then I’d
We shouldn’t be surprised when warfare happens. Why do we think pushing against the grain should be easy? I never thought I would say this, but doing the right thing won’t always make you feel good at the time. Sometimes it’s difficult and it feels opposite to what your mind is telling you, even though
We can easily feel out of control, or try to control what we really have no control over. So much of the time we step out of bounds either one way or the other instead of actually utilizing, to the best of our ability, the things we can control.
Who couldn’t use more LOVE and less of everything else in their life? I don’t know when this dream started in my heart as a young girl. I had envisioned my grandfather, a minister, praying over my future husband and me on our wedding day, for as long as I could remember. Fast forward to
The first year or two we lived in Mississippi I pretty much skipped my favorite season, fall. I was waiting for the cool crisp, sunny weather to arrive before I decorated, or dressed for the season. Shorter days came, school was in full swing and others put out their fall decor.I waited. It was a
I overslept my alarm. I can’t even remember hearing it go off or shutting it off. I jumped out of bed with a start, and ran to wake up my daughter for virtual school (hello fall of 2020), to make coffee and to get ready to leave for work. Mornings like this feel invasive. Pleasing
There are times God has to practically shove us out of our nest and send us flying into the unknown, because we’re not willing to take a risk on our own. Whether it’s God’s plans or ours sometimes we just need to move. This is exactly where I was when we moved from Colorado to
Nothing about it made sense. Our Plans or God’s? Maybe it doesn’t even matter. We had prayed all summer long and felt nothing but a desert in our souls. My husband’s freelance work begin drying up more and more. The owners of the home we were renting decided to sell. We had no visible direction.
Irrational fears don’t play fair. Like when we don’t apply for a new job because we’ve worked on one computer platform for so long that we have convinced ourselves we’ll be quite computer illiterate on the other one. This may sound stupid y’all, but fears often do in hindsight. Little irrational fears combined with larger,
Irrational fears may be silly, or embarrassing, but y’all they are for real. I know they are no joke because of how many times I find myself angsting over or paralyzed by one. I bet you’ve experienced this in one way or another in your life too. The first and only job I was ever
Nothing prepares us for lightning strikes stripping the bark off of trees during storms or seasons of life where it’s hard to focus, as our life takes on new shapes and forms we’ve never seen. Maybe we have less time, or too much time. We may find ourselves pivoting from the path we’ve known. A
I sat in my grandfather’s lap and easily convinced him to get hearing aids when no one else could. Not my mom (his middle daughter), or my grandmother. They may have tilled the ground, and prepared the soil of his heart and mind. But, it was his brown haired, brown eyed persuasive granddaughter, who had
