“Let’s have a monthly family dinner night gathering!” Ideas. I have so many. And typically they involve quite a few people. And a scope and size that doesn’t scale most of the time. But this one did. I think naming it as a goal and giving it a deadline certainly helped. So we made plans, […]
Big gift in a tiny package
March 30, 2012 By 6 Comments
I look back over the rocky chasms and green fields of the past almost 30 years, and zoom in on those beginning months that were shaping me to be a parent. Yes, we were excited to be having our first, don’t get me wrong. It’s just, well, I didn’t like being pregnant. It wasn’t magical […]
Five Minute Friday-Loud
March 23, 2012 By 14 Comments
Shhhh. Can’t you just be quiet? Are you sure you want to wear that outfit? Don’t you want to be pretty? Don’t you want to be liked? Do you really think that joining that group is a good idea? Uh oh. I can hear my inner child ramping up the volume in response. But I’m […]
Five Minute Friday-Brave
March 16, 2012 By 14 Comments
photo: stevendepolo Brave? That word used to send me scurrying under the bed with my good buddies the dust bunnies. They were good company: quiet, companionable, and most importantly, asked nothing of me. We’d just rest there until Miss Fearsome Opportunity stopped her insistent knocking on the door and moved along to scare share with […]
Offering ourselves grace
March 14, 2012 By 7 Comments
You know the drill. You line the kids up before they sit down at the table, and ask to check their hands to see if they are actually clean. A reasonable request, don’t you think? What if God lined us up at the end of the day, and asked to inspect our hearts, especially in […]
Five Minute Friday-Empty
March 9, 2012 By 13 Comments
Empty. That word can bring up images of being wrung out and worn out, of having nothing left to give to your family, of gray days and long, dark nights. How about instead, we view it as an opportunity, of a clear and lovely place, delightfully awaiting the Master’s touch? We can imagine ourselves and […]
Five Minute Friday-Ache
March 2, 2012 By 14 Comments
The ache of motherhood. It’s like being at a banquet and eating the best dessert ever topped with bits of jalepanos and drops of vinegar. Sweet. And oh so very snappy. And also sometimes unpleasantly sour. Bites of deliciously delightful love, that somehow are layered with occasional tastes of hot anger, and sometimes, too, a […]
Your ticket out of the desert
February 29, 2012 By 1 Comment
The desert. That familiar hot and dry and endless place, where the winds howl to the world about the depth of my worthlessness and tear at the shreds of my self-esteem. Where the flying grains of sand sting at my conscience and blind me to my gifts. I have been there and done that, and […]
Five Minute Friday-Grit
February 24, 2012 By 10 Comments
Ahh, the feel of the warm sand at the beach as you curl your toes and gather up its gritty wonderfulness. The joy of watching your little one toddle around with glee, her round bottom plopping down as she bends to discover another treasure, her chubby fingers grabbing a small handful of the seashore and […]
Five Minute Friday-Delight
February 17, 2012 By 10 Comments
Delight, oh my! Colorful, bubbly, tinkling, shimmering, bright and shiny. Delight… …in my children as they grow and even as they challenge me, for without the difficult times I would not appreciate the absolute wonderfulness of who they are. …in my husband as our love continues to grow, as we realize we have been […]
