-
Restricted Vehicles
A girl stands, hand tightly tucked into her Father’s, at the edge of the ocean, water lapping at her toes and wind whipping her tendrils of hair. She can taste the salt in the air every time she inhales. As far as she can see are vast waters that appear to spread with no end. She looks up at her Father, whose gaze is fixed on her instead of the horizon. He smiles and speaks confidently. You asked to cross the ocean, and now it’s time. Everything you need is inside of you. The girl looks one last time at the infinite water, unclasps her hand from her Father’s, and…
-
Pruning Season
Over the past three years, Brent and I have adopted three citrus trees because we absolutely adore home grown fruit. My favorite thing about our lemon and lime tree is they continuously bloom throughout the year, always yielding fragrant blossoms and a constant production of fruit. However, if you want a healthy tree that nourishes optimal lemons, limes, and oranges, you must prune your tree. If you let it stay in an unmanicured state for the entirety of its life, will it still produce? Yes. But if you want your tree to reach its full potential, you must cut back some of the growth so that light can penetrate into…
-
Repurpose and Rebuild
My prayer journal from this past April is littered with petitions to God to make a way for me to stay home again. I didn’t feel as though my remaining school sand had slipped through the waist of the hourglass, but I could feel a pull in my heart, a whisper that was telling me it might be time again. I just needed his confirmation, his timetable, and his provision to make it possible. Writing a tuition check for two kids felt like a shoddy bridge suspended over a mile high cavern we would be forced to cross. I’ve always known that teaching is not my final destination. That I…
-
A Thrill of Hope
When I look back on this past year in preparation to evaluate all that’s happened and make plans for my 2024 hopes and dreams, I find myself at a loss. This past year has felt like five different lives all taking me down a divergent path. If you were with me at the beginning of the year, you know the word I chose was “enchantment,” and my family and I certainly danced our way through enchanting things, both large and small. But there were also downed branches along the way that made us lose our footing, thunderstorms that both threatened and delivered on their promises, gnats of confusion, anxiety, and…
-
Maybe IDK
I’m dying. That’s certainly not the thought you want to have when you walk out of a doctor’s office, but that’s where I found myself this past week where I waited until I could lock myself in my car to let the tears fall. It was a routine appointment, one in which I became incredibly annoyed. I’m not sure why you are asked to disrobe, hang out in a paper gown with your derriere exposed on an examination table with no back support when they plan to make you wait in there like that for forty-five minutes. About thirty minutes in, I considered getting dressed again and just leaving, already…
-
The Game Changer
Brent and I just experienced a blissful evening like no other. Not because anything special happened, but also because something very special happened. But first, a little backstory. After reading The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, I felt challenged and inspired to revisit what it means when God commands us to remember the Sabbath. To keep it holy. As it turns out, we’ve been doing it wrong. Growing up, I always viewed Sunday as the Sabbath. To me it was the last day of the week before a new school week started. That was the day my family dressed up, attended church (I could barely keep my eyes open I was so exhausted all the…
-
The Naughty List
How did I get myself into this mess? It always has an innocent start. Habits turn into obsessions. Once a year, a tree lures me in Boxes seductively wrapped, reclining on one another. The pre-guessing begins. But, oh, the bag! That siren! The shifty shape didn’t elicit a proper guess, And so, obsession, that merciless dog, ate the habit In one swift gulp. Home alone, It was okay to sneak a peak Tissue paper savagely strewn across the floor Gift in hand Five days premature, He walked around the corner. Caught red-handed. Sad for a girl of thirty years.
-
The Avoidable Struggle
I hope my son earns a mediocre education. I hope my daughter marries a sub par person. I hope my son lands on a career that’s only minimally fulfilling. I hope my daughter turns out to be second-rate person. I doubt that any of the above sentiments would be what a parent wishes for their children. In fact, we do our very best to intentionally shape our kids so they can reach their full potential. We discover and nurture their gifts, we pray over their future spouses, we coach them with the wisdom we’ve gained, because you can’t simply leave the aforementioned things up to chance. They are too important.…
-
Cutting the Clutter
Nothing makes me want to light my house on fire and start over more than clutter. I don’t mind a house gone bananas during the week, but I need everything put away at some point so I can feel that inner peace that only comes with a tidy space. To be honest, I think it’s spiritual. Let me explain by taking you on a journey. There’s something beautiful that happens to me when I visit the mountains. Growing up in the suburbs of Asheville, NC, I have so many fond outdoor memories. Vegetable gardens, forts in the woods, camping, white water rafting. Did you know you can tie a string…
-
When God Speaks
I’m interested in a relationship with Jesus. That was the box my daughter checked when prompted at the end of our Easter service. Of course I did what any good mom would do: I peaked at her answer. On our way home, Brent and I both agreed we needed to circle back around to her response card when we put her in bed that night and knew she would be open to talking. What it came down to was not her uncertainty of salvation, but rather her lack of desire to have her own quiet time, something Brent and I had been encouraging her to do. “I hear you and…