A Poet and a Warrior

It’s Father’s Day. That’s more than just a statement, it’s an intentional drawing of attention!  I’ve always felt a little uneasy seeing that in our culture Mother’s Day gets all the hype and hooplah, while Father’s Day slides past under-advertised. I don’t know exactly why that is. Is it just that Mother’s Day comes first…

Know Why You “No”

I hate saying no. I really stink at it. I detest feeling like I’ve let others down. I have to work myself up to near-frenzy to get the words out and I typically feel remorse about it afterward as if I’m single handedly crushing someone’s spirit through my negative reply. I struggle with this. It’s…

The Alaskan Allure

“I think he’d make a great spouse for someone… I just dont’ know who.” “Why do the awkward ones always have the most confidence?” “Where do you go to meet single boys? Where are they hiding?” These are all conversations I’ve had over the past week. I have a number of single girlfriends (we need…

Grant Perseverance

This is Grant Perseverance. But we like to call him Percy! He is a chunky, playful, ovary-twitching-inducing ball of fun! I got to visit with him and his family a few weeks ago. He holds a special place in my heart because, although he’s just turning one today, I’ve prayed for him for much, much…

My First Free Saturday

I woke up this past Saturday and didn’t know what to do with myself. I’ve worked nearly every Saturday for the past six years at the hospital and I was so eager to have a true weekend, a two-day-in-a-row-mini-vacation. I’d lived with a day off here or there for so long that the prospect of…

The [Gluten-Free] Bread of Life

What happens when health prevents you from fully partaking in a church service? What if you are bed-bound and unable to attend a service? What if you are deaf and cannot hear the sermon or the music? What if you cannot partake in communion because of a gluten allergy? How does the church love you…

Valor’s Quote of the Day

Picture this: Mom and Kelly in the front seat and Valor and Percy safely strapped in the back; we stop quickly at a yellow light. Valor removes his thumb from his mouth to exclaim, “Mom! I just felt inertia in my body because the car stopped, but my body kept going.” He then replaces his…

What Kind of Music Do You Listen to?

Don’t you hate that question? Me too. It’s like saying, “What have you ever eaten?” Or “What colors have you seen today?” It’s too broad, too overwhelming, too diverse to narrow down. I can’t give you a list of everything on my iPod, but I can tell you about the most meaningful music in my…