The ugly truth: more often than not, I put my career above my family. Not because I care more about my job (though my actions would say otherwise), but because it seems like I have a never-ending to-do list at work. Once I cross something off the list, three more items appear. I’m constantly treading the water of planning, emailing, managing, grading, followed by more planning, more emailing, more managing, and more grading. My metaphorical legs are rubber by the time I get home. What does my family get? The leftovers, and not the kind that makes you glad you ordered extra noodles with yum-yum sauce. To help me stay…

Three hundred sixty-five chances to get it “right.” Getting it right doesn’t mean that every day is going to be perfect. In fact, most days are riddled with exhaustion, frustration, and sometimes defeat. BUT GOD! His grace is sufficient for you. His power is made perfect in your WEAKNESS (II Corinthians 12:9) In other words, his empowerment is in you through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Engage that power. And what about those tough days, weeks, months, or seasons? You can still get it “right.” Choose HIM every day. Take one step at a time, make one healthy decision at a time, and when you falter, because you will, rely on…

I’m dying looking at the last few posts from my blog. The last one is from January of 2019 and the one before it, January 2018. If that doesn’t sum up the current season of my life, I don’t know what will. I start the year out strong, fall off the wagon mid-January, then resort to rolling down the hill into the dungeons of December. No matter how much time I take off, the smoldered passion for writing always flares up when a slight breeze of inspiration blows by. So, it wouldn’t be January Bev without talking about the upcoming year’s goals.  If you’ve been with me on this journey…

Oh, hey! If you want some New Year’s advice from someone who has all their shtuff together, go subscribe to someone else. Remember when I was going to write in my blog once a week? I’ve finally discovered that even though I am a writer, I’m not a blogger. In fact, you’re lucky you’re getting this post. But, I felt inspired, so here’s a little ditty served up just for you. This past year was one of the best and one of the most difficult seasons of my life. The blessings were abundant, but the personal challenges almost defeated me (ask my husband who had to deal with a wilted…

Last weekend, I found myself with one remaining remnant of the Christmas season hanging around the house like a guest you just can’t get rid of: the Christmas memory book. It’s one of those things you hate to fill out every year, but love to read the following December when you pull it out of the attic. So far, my family has seven Christmases catalogued with our family’s cards, traditions, meals, activities, special gifts, mishaps and so on. Desperately wanting to be done with it so I could officially declare Christmas over, I quickly scribbled answers into each of the blanks for “Christmas 2017.” The last section has several lines…

Back when I finished reading 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You, I decided the year 2018 would be an anti-social one. By that I mean that for an entire calendar year, I would give up all forms of social media. But when the week of Thanksgiving hit, I decided to toss it early, trading pixels for people, captions for conversations, and cacophony for calm. [Insert picture of beautiful tablescape that was not taken since I had no Instagram to post it on] I’ve been at it for nearly 8 weeks, and it’s incredible how easy and beneficial that decision has been. But that’s for a later post. By the way, if…

Dear Parents, Teachers have favorites, and there is nothing you can do about it. I rarely made it through a school year without hearing at least one of my students complain about how Mr. McTeacherton has favorites. I always pressed my lips together to stifle a smile, because I know the truth. You bet your sweet bippy they do! You would have thought I shredded their 10-minute research paper they plagiarized off the internet right in front of their faces when I told them this. Teachers have favorites. Every.single.one.of.them. And if any of them deny it to your face, they are probably laughing about it behind your back. Now, before…

This is not the post I had planned for today. But then yesterday happened. Yesterday, my body was inhabited by the Beelzebub of Pinterest. I’m hesitant to share this because I’m afraid everyone who reads this has never experienced what I’m about to tell you. That I am the only person who can become demon possessed. It started innocently enough, a week ago, when I had access to HGTV. I got sucked into the vortex of home makeovers and fixer uppers, and flipping, and it took me through a week of obsession before I flopped. Almost six years ago, Brent and I bought a fixer upper, and we’ve done many…

Without warning, she was shot.Somewhere between plastic tiaras and name-brand cosmeticsA fabled word had been whispered.People chose sides and the venomous artillery fired.It took her two days to remove the artificial fingernails from her skinAnd rinse the hairspray from her eyes.When the dust cleared, a stalemate ensued for another twenty-four.Beady eyes stared each other down during passing.In the end, neither of them took the blame, but they agreed.Yes, yes, surely this must have been a miscommunication. He walloped the other boy.All was solved.

My husband and I just celebrated ten whopping years of marriage, and I’m taking this week to brag on him just a little bit. I posted the following picture of us when we went out to celebrate last weekend. But let me take you back to the thunder and lightning seven months prior. In December of last year, we were forced to replace one of our cars a little sooner than planned. And that’s when the drizzle started. We were still paying my daughter’s tuition at private school, and of course we had incurred the expenses of a newborn (why are diapers and formula so doggone expensive?) My son has…

It’s hard to believe that ten years ago today, my husband and I tied the knot. Of course, I made sure it was a constrictor knot. To date, he has not escaped. I honestly was a baby when we got married, and he an adult. In fact, in the 9 years that separate us, it’s crazy for me to think that I’ve just passed the age that he was when we first got married. My! How my perspective on life has changed. Just recently, Brent was asked to share what he believed has strengthened our marriage throughout the years. Interestingly enough, this person (who has hit a bit of a…

If Satan were a bodily organ, he would certainly be a child’s bladder on an already 10-minute late commute to church on a Sunday morning. Just last week, I finished reading Lysa Terkeurst’s book Unglued. Toward the end of the book, she covers the importance of observing and preserving the Sabbath. Brent and I used to be really good at going nutso on Friday and Saturday so that Sunday was a day of physical, mental, and emotional rest. We even went to church on Saturday night, because getting kids ready for church does not put me in a Sabbath state of mind. As of late, we have somehow managed to move back into…