I heard a quote recently from Krista Bontrager that caught my attention: “Christianity will survive without America, but America won’t survive without Christianity. I think she’s one thousand percent correct. Last week I had the privilege of teaching in our Tuesday morning Bible study at church. We are going through the Psalms of Ascent, historically…
Always Something
I pause at the threshold, the open doors of the thatch-roofed cabana giving way to an enthralling expanse of turquoise water and brilliant blue sky. My sheer cotton cover-up ruffles pleasantly as a sweet, paradise-scented breeze passes by. After two solid minutes of just breathing it in, I make my way, barefoot, across pale sand…
Making Life Beautiful
It’s a quiet, perfect morning here on the screened-in porch. Or, it was until someone started vacuuming their driveway. I don’t know if that’s what they’re doing but it sounds like an industrial Dust Buster. It’s fine. I wasn’t enjoying the birdsong or anything. And now he’s apparently clapping giant erasers together. Sigh. The day…
Finding a Good Church
Church hunting in 2023 has been quite the eye-opening endeavor. Let me start by saying there is no such thing as a perfect church, because churches are made up of imperfect people! Additionally, we all have our preferences: different people prefer different music, preaching styles, location, church size, etc. The problem, we discovered while scouring…
Finding Your Happy Place
They say if you look back at what you used to love as a kid, you’ll find what you were meant to do as an adult. For example, if you were intrigued by how things were put together, so much so that you ripped your toys apart just for the fun of reassembling them, you…
And Just Like That…
Our church is closing. The news came seemingly out of nowhere. I love our church. We’ve grown close with the other families. I looked forward to seeing our elementary and preschool kids grow into teens and adulthood together. It intrigued me to wonder what they would be like as they matured and found their niche…
The Real Deal
I’ve been questioning God for a while now. It just seems so unfair. Why would he set things up this way? It’s cruel, really. I’m sure most of you will agree. Why do all things delicious have to be bad for your health? Why does nutritious food taste like actual dirt (looking at you, beets!)?…
Home Sweet Homemaking
One morning as breakfast was finishing up, a mother asked her child what she might like to be when she grew up. The child thought for a moment and then answered hesitantly, “A baker?”. “Oh!” the mother said, giving the stovetop a final swipe with her sponge, “That would be fun! Anything else?” The child…
Be Encouraged
This is for the Christian who sees the world running gleefully-blindly-as fast as they can into the outstretched arms of the enemy of their souls. It’s for the Christian who is not taken in by the snake-charmers’ song: the deceptive, twisted, soothing tune sung over a generation of somnambulists: so seduced by a dream world…
This Is Us
Jackie Hill Perry once said, “If you’re not having fun when you sin, you’re doing it wrong.” She isn’t lying. If sin wasn’t appealing, we wouldn’t fall for it so often! We are presented with thousands of choices every single day, and sometimes the pull to give in to what’s easy or gratifying in the…
Living Well 