Each of our four sons played soccer their kindergarten year, and my husband was purposefully their first coach. He always taught them one important lesson in that first season: everything is hard until it’s easy. In other words, practice, practice, practice. This admonition to work at what does not necessarily come naturally (until it is…
Parenting continues to teach me new things about God and my relationship with him. When one of our sons are absent from us for an extended period, I crave to hear from him, to know how he is doing, to be made privy to his thoughts and actions. I wish to connect to him in…
We were in Stephenville, TX for a child’s soccer game. Rather than drive an hour home for lunch, we used the AroundMe app to find a place to eat. Big O’s Simply Delicious Deli popped up, with great reviews. The owner greeted us with a thick European accent. Upon asking, we learned he came to…
Do you ever feel pulled in so many different directions at once that you fear that you are about to snap under the strain? Or, maybe you feel like a pitcher, constantly being poured out of in order to fill others’ cups? In the book Gifts from the Sea, the author, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, describes woman…
How would you answer the question, “How do you grow your faith?” Considering the answer to this question in a group discussion recently, one answer was to spend more time with God, both in prayer and his word. Through the course of the discussion, the subject of trust was raised. There was an emphasis on…
Whenever someone begins to become a little whiny in my husband’s family, my mother-in-law has been known to say in jest, “Moan, Groan, Gripe, and Complain!” It is always said very lightheartedly, accompanied by a smile, and received with the good humor with which it is conveyed. But, despite the moment of levity, there is…
May is often a hectic month with graduations, end of school events, Memorial Day weekend, and volatile, stormy weather. With a child who has a late May birthday, the culmination of these events nearly always interferes with party plans. Traditionally, intricate plotting and rescheduling is required (and one year, a full out cancellation after 3…
“You will learn more about yourself through parenting than probably any other endeavor.” These wise words were spoken to me by my mother when I had just one, young, son. Nearly twenty years, and three additional boys, has certainly revealed things about myself that have thrilled my soul, as well as some not as pleasant….
Today, a woman in our congregation gave me some eggs from her backyard chickens. This is like a gift of gold. She commented that, “They are good eggs and we have been blessed with more than we can use. Gotta be some perks for being the preacher’s wife.” Amen to that! 🙂 As I put…
Recently, I have been cycling through a personal “everything is meaningless” slump. During an upswing day, I had an epiphany in Sunday morning Bible class. We were studying the book of Ecclesiastes. Not exactly what some might consider to be good, uplifting subject matter. 🙂 However, as we discussed what it means in chapter 3 that…