Articles

Blessing for the New Year

Growing up, December 31 always meant that I got to stay up past my bedtime… stay up past my bedtime AND get sparkling grape juice. Win, win. Now, December 31 sometimes means staying up past my bedtime, but it also is a day where I reflect on…

Freedom from Our Unnecessary Expectations

When I was 8 years old, my family and I spent a few weeks of the summer at our friend’s condo on the beach in Michigan. It was part of a camp and conference center, and one of the things they were known for was…

Behold Your King this Christmas

I shared a little of this story over on Facebook Live on Monday… this season always reminds me of a truth I learned that Christmas Day of 2016. We had a truly wonderful Christmas that year- lots of time with family, good food, seeing our…

Are you thirsty?

About 15 years ago, I went on a kayaking trip with a friend. We camped out in northern Wisconsin and kayaked 21 miles. It was beautiful and peaceful… until we got hit with a storm and the current that was pushing us along suddenly died…

Thankfulness Offered in Faith

If you were to walk into my family room, you would see a large canvas painting above our fireplace. On that painting, you would see four Hebrew words – these words guide the way our family desires to live together. We, of course, fail to…

Overcoming Fatigue, Frustration, and Burn Out

There was this really beautiful moment this past year I’ll never forget. It was a moment of honesty like I’ve never witnessed in my life. Perhaps it was because, in that vast room I was standing in, we agreed to (in the words of Beth…

The Name that Defeats Overwhelm

My oldest son has been grappling with the unknown as he entered his first couple weeks of Kindergarten. Between the stomach flu and abnormal routines, he has found himself overwhelmed by newness and even his own expectations of himself. As a mom, I’ve struggled with…

Remember Today

It was a Tuesday morning, and I was in the family room of my childhood home here in the US with a few other kids who were in our homeschool group. We had just finished settling in for the day, and began preparing to start…

The Fierceness of Leading With Kindness

“You’re never going to make it in leadership if you keep being kind.” Several years ago, this statement was expressed to me on the way out of a meeting. I had just handled an intense situation differently than my peer would have. What was expressed…