The Writer and the Wrench

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.…

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…

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 peeked 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…

If it seems as though I only write from a place of my failures, it’s because those are the times that I learn and grow the most, and believe me when I say I’m a work in progress. The moment I think I have something down, I’m reminded how much more I have to learn or how much deeper I so desperately need my roots to grow. So, here’s another chapter out of my life from just a few weeks ago. It all started with one of my administrators coming in for an observation during the last 10 minutes of my class. What did he see? Almost all of the…

One of my health goals this year is to hit my 40th birthday the healthiest I’ve been since I was a high school athlete.  I tend to exercise and eat right in cycles, but I’ve yet to find that stride that helps me keep going when I trip up.  Believe it or not, my biggest enemy is not a binge fest of highly McFatty foods and sweets. I know how to pick myself up and recover from that. It’s also not about missing a workout.  It’s the psychology behind missing two planned workouts in a week. I struggle with OCD tendencies when it comes to ordering. For instance, if I want…

If you want to know how the third list has been working out for me, it’s been great! Until this last week. It was the perfect storm of a sick child, my ever-growing school and home to do list, and my anxiety and depression that left me crying in the living room after fixing dinner a few nights ago. And not a casual mist. The ugly cry that requires a poncho. The one that comes with intrusive thoughts. The one that makes you feel like you’re in a black hole and will never get out. And sometimes you don’t want to get out. You just want it to go ahead…

When we moved into our current home ten years ago, it was always our plan to plant a Valencia orange tree. As a kid, my family juiced oranges every winter, and once you’ve had true fresh squeezed juice, store bought jugs just won’t do the trick anymore.  We initially put off purchasing a tree because of the expense. At the time, $100 just seemed too extravagant when we had so many other things to fix up around our new home. With the passage of time we rarely thought about our initial plan. Occasionally one of us would say, “Remember when we wanted to plant an orange tree? Do you still want to…

This post is not for the parents who have all their ducks in a row, dressed in uniform, and quacking in unison. This is for the parents who have minus seven things together, and they are already saving for their kids’ future therapy. I’ve always been super frustrated by parents who seem to have everything in balance: a clean house, manicured lawn, and apparently enough FREE TIME every other day to create special memories for their families. They are doing all the things! And I’m not jealous of the things. I’m jealous of how they seem to be professional jugglers. I’m jealous of the fact that I’m so zeroed in…

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…