I’m writing over at Proverbs 31 Ministries today and thought I’d share it with you too! This version has bonus content.
I was combing the tangles out of the freshly shampooed hair of one of my favorite six-year-olds. We chatted about important things such as our favorite song in Frozen, do dogs go to heaven, and which is the prettiest color—pink or purple. Read more…
I can do it. No, I can’t. Yes, I can. No, I can’t.
Have you ever had that conversation with yourself? You feel like God is calling you to reach out to someone, start a new venture, teach a Bible study, write a book, share a story about your past that you’ve never shared before. But then your fear shouts at your faith to keep quiet. Read more…
I watched my friend, Patricia, struggle through more than twenty years of a difficult marriage. Her husband left three times during the two decades—once before their three children were born, and twice after. They lived through nineteen different homes in multiple cities, revolving jobs, rumored affairs, cycles of financial plenty followed by financial deficiency. Eventually, after twenty-three years, Rodney packed his bags for the last time and left. Read more…
Steve and I were headed to the coast and stopped for our usual lunch break, Chick-fil-A, just twenty minutes from our destination. It was one last time to fill up on sweet tea.
While Steve purchased our nuggets, I took our Bernedoodle, Molly, for a walk in the grassy area between Chick-fil-A and Dunkin’.
Molly sniffed, Read more…
Have you ever held a grudge? That’s a silly question. I think we all have. I remember when Nancy Davis asked the boy I had my eye on to the high school dance. Can we all say G-r-u-d-g-e with an extra grrrr?
Esau, now that’s a biblical character who held a grudge…and rightly so. His brother Jacob and his momma grabbed the pen right out of God’s hand, Read more…
Harry called it a dune buggy. I called it a death trap.
My friend, Harry, invited me and some of my friends for a ride over beach sand dunes in his big wheel jeep. I like sand. I like rides. Sounded like fun. It was not.
We buckled in and Harry revved up the engine. We did not ride over the sand dunes; Read more…
My son, Steven, and I sat on the floor in his room playing a card game. The summer was proving to be the best ever. Our golden retriever, Ginger, had just delivered seven adorable puppies, Steven was enjoying his sixth summer of life, and after four years of negative pregnancy tests, God had surprised us with a new life growing inside my womb. Read more…
I’ll be honest, for most of my life I felt like I was in second place, an alternate, an also ran, not quite as good as everybody else.
I was a cheerleader my junior year in high school, but I was what they called an alternate. That meant I was on the squad and did everything that the other girls did, Read more…
Five-year-old Brooke was sitting in the backseat of the minivan while her mom and I ran errands. “Mommy,” she asked, “Is it worse to pick a scab or pick a mosquito bite?”
“You shouldn’t pick either one,” her mom replied.
I glanced back at Brooke as she tried to wipe away the bloody evidence that she had done both. Read more…
My mom wore a two-carat diamond necklace that hung from a gold chain around her neck. My dad had given it to her for an anniversary. Before you say, “Good for her,” keep reading.
One day, when she was shopping in my little hometown, she walked through an alley separating two buildings. This spunky seventy-something year old held several packages and her purse looped over her wrist. Read more…
