Why should you listen to podcasts? Because it’s a wonderful way to be encouraged and learn, while you’re doing something else. You can work out, cook dinner, nurse the baby, fold laundry, take a bath, sweep your floor, or tidy your living room… but engage your mind and heart at the same time! So, are you […]

This is a guest post, written by my mom, Debbie. As we are currently preparing for a cross-country move, away from my parents, my husband’s mom, & much of our extended family, she had some thoughts she wanted to share. Visit her new website: TheButtonWoman.com. ************************************* Many of my friends and loved ones have commented […]

The experts recommend “tummy time,” but babies don’t seem to enjoy it. Here are some ways moms can help their babies push through the difficulty and develop those important neck and tummy muscles and head toward crawling.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros have the cutest, hippy-dippy love song. It’s my most recent favorite song to capture some of the way I feel about Doug: Oh, it gets some things wrong. Don’t go looking for perfect expressions of truth among imperfect humans. Every human offering gets some things wrong. And yes, it’s […]

One of the reason I think we all giggled as we read through Song of Solomon as kids is because of the bold and unabashed plainness of it all. Breasts are called breasts; thighs are thighs– it’s all so exposed. NAKED AND UNSHAMED They are, in the words of Genesis, “naked and unashamed.” There’s no […]

I hate sin. I mean I really hate it. And I wish I could say I hate it for all the reasons God does, but I don’t. I’m not that holy. I definitely hate that it put Jesus on the cross. Honestly, though? I don’t hate it enough for that reason. Because I still do […]

Have you ever caught yourself listening to a sermon on someone else’s behalf? What I mean by that is, are you mentally internally saddened because, “so-and-so SURE COULD BENEFIT from hearing this,” but she isn’t there? Or perhaps you’re cheering the pastor on because you think, “Boy, I hope that couple across the aisle is paying […]

“I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.” ~1 John 2:12 Does one sin (or sin area) come into your mind when I say, “‘THAT sin’ does not define you?” I’ll be honest and tell you that I used to– as a believer– live under the weight and […]

As I grow in my understanding of the Gospel, and see my own weakness, this was a declaration/confession for me, recorded (and then forgotten, oops!) a little over 2 years ago. I want to be a mom with a Gospel-shaped posture toward life. Recorded: March 2017, after baby #8

SKIP STRAIGHT TO THE VIDEO BY CLICKING HERE: https://youtu.be/J4_MT8P1ZJc When we work hard at mothering, we often come face-to-face with ourselves. We see our fears and our desire to control everything. We see our own anger. Our selfishness, anxieties, and our weakness and frailty all come to the forefront. It’s embarrassing, isn’t it? Too often, […]

Every year I’m reminded… “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, … A pair of hop-along boots and a pistol that shoots Is the wish of Barney and Ben, Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk Is the hope of Janice and Jen, And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school […]

We typically don’t know when emergencies are going to happen. This means we’re often in high-adrenaline, reactionary mode, when those emergencies come. One way we can make those times *less* stressful is by being prepared in advance, in the ways that ARE possible. Here are 5 ways we can prepare our families for emergency situations: Basic […]

For those long-time readers or people who know us in real life, this autobiographical background may be review, but it’ll help explain what follows: 12 years or so ago, for many reasons, we moved abroad. Doug managed a coffee roasting business, and I stayed home with our ever-expanding family. We each learned languages and made local […]

Well, it’s been more than a year since I’ve written here. And a lot happened in the last year. WHAT WE DID, BETWEEN JUNE 2017 & JUNE 2018: Through our extended family, we’ve experienced some life-changing pain– the death of two grandparents, and my brother went through an unexpected divorce. They married the same year we did, and though we […]