Have you ever felt that something done to you or done through you disqualified you from doing great things for God? Let me tell you a story about when I felt sooooo disqualified.
My son, Steven, was in the ninth grade when I turned in the manuscript for my book, Being a Great Mom, Raising Great Kids. Read more…
Have you ever felt stuck in your faith? Like you can’t seem to grow any deeper? Stand any stronger? Believe any better? I know I have.
Sometimes I feel like a trapeze artist who’s stuck hanging over the vast expanse in a circus tent, wondering why I can’t fly through the spiritual life with the greatest of ease like so many others seem to. Read more…
Let me tell you a story about what it looks like to hang on to Jesus. It just might be what you need to do today.
Blondin” was the stage name for Frenchman Jean-Francois Gravelet. He was a young man who migrated to the United States with a troupe of acrobats employed by Master Showman P.T. Barnum. In 1858, Read more…
I watched a gaggle of eight-year-olds play a game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey. One was blindfolded, spun around in circles, and then pointed in the direction of a donkey posted on the wall. As she made her way toward where she thought the donkey was waiting, her friends yelled out which way she should go.
“Move to the right!”
“Move to the left!”
“You’re getting cold!”
“Now you’re getting warmer!’
“Go up a little!”
Some of the voices intentionally tried to mislead her, Read more…
I remember as a little girl, hiding under the covers of my bed, trying to shut out my parents’ yelling and screaming in the next room. I heard bad words. I didn’t know what some of them meant, but I did know how they made me feel. Dirty. The next morning, I awoke to the aftermath of the night’s tirade—Mom’s black eye, Read more…
I sat on the floor playing a card game with my young son. It was shaping up to be one of the best summers ever. Steven was savoring every minute of the long hot days, our Golden Retriever, Ginger, had delivered seven adorable puppies, and after years of negative pregnancy tests and doctor visits, I had a new life growing in my womb. Read more…
Do you remember the first Rocky movie? (I just looked it up and there have been eight.) In the very first film about the Italian Stallion, Rocky Balboa falls madly in love with the very demure Adrian who works at a Tropical Fish pet store. Adrian is very intelligent, shy, and cautious. Rocky is, well, none of those things. In one scene, Read more…
It’s coming. We can’t stop it. The holidays are upon us. And while it is a joyous time of year, it can also try our patience and get on our last nerve. Actually, it’s not the season itself…but the people. Am I the only one who feels that way? I don’t think so…smile.
While pondering the happy and the harrowing feelings that come along with all this togetherness that is coming over the next six weeks, Read more…
Father’s Day is coming up in just a few days. For some, it is a lonely day because the dad they loved has passed away or is absent from their lives. For some it is a painful day because of past memories and disappointments. Wherever you are on the continuum of happy to heartbroken this Father’s Day, keep reading to be reminded that you have a Heavenly Father who is the best dad of all. Read more…
I was exhausted. I was drenched in sweat. I was filled with inexplicable joy–a joy I had never known. It was the day Steven Hugh Jaynes, Jr. emerged from the pocket of my womb and made his grand debut into the world. And it was through that miracle that I understood an important name for God: El Shaddai.
When my son was born, Read more…