Sometimes we cry over personal pain or frustration. Sometimes over relational distress. Sometimes over an unexpectedly hard day. Sometimes my tears are understandable and justified.  Sometimes I’ve cried selfish tears, or over dumb stuff. But there is some of my crying that my kids have seen that (I’m convinced) does good for their souls… It rises up […]

We have a family habit of taking off and dropping our shoes by the back door when we come in. Then, twice a week, one of the little boys has a chore of tidying them all. Looking back, it would have been better for me to  teach them all to practice diligence from the beginning, by having […]

It’s a popular thing to say. It sounds self-deprecating and humble and cutesy and modern. “He’s a better mom than I am.” Sometimes it’s accompanied by an explanation, like “my husband: is more organized makes Bento-box lunches plays in the floor with them is less neurotic about cleanliness cleans better is more fun knows more about […]

No matter who we are, who our kids are, or how long we’ve been a mom, the tough days come. Bad attitudes come. Rough nights of sleep come. With tough days comes an uphill fight to have a contented attitude. I see it in my life– don’t you?– and so of course it occasionally comes […]

One of my favorite passages in C.S. Lewis’ fiction is from his book, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. For background, Eustace is a wretched, spoiled boy who constantly complains and makes life miserable for himself and everyone else. He’s unexpectedly come to Narnia with his cousins Edmund and Lucy. The ship they’re on visits several islands, and […]

I’ve been a Pastor’s wife for three and a half years. The first two of those years, my husband was an administrative pastor, which was a very different thing from the counseling and discipleship pastoral role he has now. It’s not been very long, really, but it’s been long enough to have learned a few things and made […]

We recently participated in a silent, prayerful, smiling protest. We used our rights and stood for life. It was our first time to participate, and we decided to go on the spur of the moment. Of course we talked expectations as we drove to the protest, brought snacks for the 2-year-old to enjoy during the event, […]

In the outset, I need to admit that I’ve never read a Janet Evanovich novel. I gather that they are somewhat-steamy romantic books with fun-loving, self-deprecating main characters who are always in a lovable bind. I’m not a romance book reader, and actually have serious concerns/disagreements with the way these books are written, and the […]

In the recent Reader Survey, this question came through. It’s one I get asked from time to time, given our history of having lived abroad, in 14 different homes in 14 years of marriage, and doing all of that as a young, growing family: Q: You have been in various states of transition over the past […]

Confession time: I am tired of all the food wars. Tired, tired, tired. When I was growing up, everything was low-fat. Low-fat yogurt, 2% milk, low-fat cheese. Now, apparently, that makes you fat, no joke. This week, it’s “eat no carbs”, next thing I read says ‘trade off only carbs or fats as the fuel for […]

If you share everything, you’re an exhibitionist. If you share nothing, you’re closed-off and unapproachable. If you share too many good things, you’re fake. If you share too many bad things, you’re a whiner. It’s hard to get the balance right, isn’t it? Online interactions don’t always lend themselves to complete transparency. And even when […]

“It takes incredible amount of courage and strength to go against the grain of what people want you to be.” ~Janet Mock, trans advocate, in a documentary about Bruce Jenner’s recent ESPN award No it doesn’t. It doesn’t take strength at all to go your own way. That is what comes naturally. This is the human […]

Here are 6 of my favorite Bible passages about marriage… each passage challenges me, instructs my heart, and keeps me grounded in the beauty of how and why God made marriage. At the end of each verse, I’ve written a question for wives to consider.  It helps to understand the significance of each if you […]

“OH my goodness, what a sweet squish ball you are! Can you say, ‘I’m a Pumpkinhead?’” 2-year-old Theo: “I a punkinhead.” This short, silly encounter with my precious, repeat-anything son made me think. As believers, we need to fervently repeat what our Father tells us, even when we don’t yet understand or have a clue what […]