I lay my son’s neatly folded Little Drummer Boy costume into a storage bin, most likely to be forgotten in the coming months. Wrapping paper is crammed into bags waiting to go out with next week’s recycling. The fridge is full of leftovers from Christmas dinner. The decorations twinkle happily as if begging me not to put them back into the attic. The day after Christmas is always strange to me. This season is so longed-for and seems to creep in earlier and earlier every year! And then—poof—it is all over. You might be that person who could leave their tree up until March. Or maybe, you are alr ..read more

You can’t compartmentalize God. Trust me, I’ve tried. It’s not that I’ve tried to box God in. But rather, I kept parts of my life separate from him. So it’s funny, my brother-in-law is 9 years younger than my husband. When I first met my brother-in-law, he was about 15 or 16 years old and it never failed that halfway through dinner. he would ask his mom what was for dessert. There’s Always Room for Dessert In the house I grew up in, dessert was a specialty. Well, except for the ginormous bowl of ice cream, my dad scooped up for us every night during our movie time. But my mother-in-law was alw ..read more

The autumn months aren’t just a time for crisp air, vibrantly colored leaves, and all things apple and pumpkin, this season is perfect for reaching out to someone to encourage them and let them know you care. Grab the kids and brainstorm who might benefit from a creative gift from your family. It may be someone new who needs welcoming, a family going through a struggle, or someone who is lonely and needs to know that God cares about them, and so do you. Try any of these simple ideas to put a smile on someone’s face this fall! Make a Caramel Apple Basket. What could be sweeter than a ca ..read more

Pulling into the parking lot of our local donut shoppe, my boys and I spotted our pastor in the window of the donut store. He was sitting at a tall table covered with papers, his laptop, two pairs of reading glasses, and the avocado toast he was enjoying for breakfast while working on Sunday’s sermon. We ordered our batch of donuts and headed over for a quick hello before bolting into the busyness of the morning. He looked up and smiled at the boys and I remarking, “Isn’t summer great?!” Had it been a mom friend, I would’ve probably made a snarky comment about how it depends on the day and ho ..read more

If you’re like me, inviting friends over always makes you astutely aware of the disarray of your home. In this particular instance, I experience a rude awakening to my extremely overgrown, neglected garden bed. As I feverishly get to weeding, my weed pile grows embarrassingly high. There is something exceptionally cathartic about losing myself in the smell of dirt, bark, and weeds.  But my peace promptly dissolves as my children, deep in conflict, find me outside to urgently pull me into their dispute. I wish I could say I was an exemplary mother at that moment. Instead, consumed by my ow ..read more

It’s summer, and that means time for hot dogs and burgers on the grill, ice cream and popsicles by the lake, and later-than-usual bedtimes as fireflies and clear skies vie for our evening attention. Everyone loves the wonderful break summer provides! My children are thrilled about the respite they enjoy from typical schedules, math lessons, and grammar practice. The high schoolers have no significant papers due, no tests looming, and nothing on their calendars. All that free time is wonderful … except when it’s not. Nothing to do can quickly devolve into … well, let’s face it, nothing to do ..read more

My 16-year-old daughter has a crazy schedule. Between marching band and summer camp counseling, music lessons and Bible study, she’s not a kid who has the typical availability to work at Chick-Fil-A or ring up groceries three to five shifts a week. So how can today’s uber-committed kids earn some cash? Entrepreneurship. Both my husband and I run our own businesses, and we love the flexibility this affords us to work and be available for our family needs simultaneously. We’re teaching our kids to also approach life from an entrepreneurial perspective, which means, when the world doesn’t fit int ..read more

It can be overwhelming to journey with a child questioning their faith. Here are some tips to help you guide your child during this time. “But Mom, how do I know I’ll want to be with God when I die? I don’t want to grow up. I think I want to live forever on earth like this.” My son’s small voice quivered as he stared blankly ahead, tears forming in his eyes. Our nighttime bible story, which began as a trickle of questions and doubt, is turning into a deluge of fear and uncertainty about God. No amount of reassurance about restoration from a broken world seems to assuage his fears. As I wrap h ..read more

Every life is full of interruptions and how we respond to those interruptions is an opportunity to be part of real life happening around us. To live without interruption, one could be highly focused or highly bored. You can quote me on that. Unless you are locked in a cave of solitude, interruptions are inevitable even in our best-laid plans for productivity. This mindset may be the only thing that allows you to maintain sanity during the endless stream of interruptions flooding in. Text messages. Kids. The laundry buzzer going off. A wandering mind. Calendar appointment reminders. Kids. Some ..read more

How are you & your spouse different? As a wife, it helps when you are embracing & accepting your husband’s unique differences & vice versa. I love to play it safe and err on the side of caution. My husband Jeremiah thrives on adventure, spontaneity, and risk. So on our way home the other night from eating out together, he wanted to take the back roads home. “Remember, we have about 20 minutes until I told our babysitter we’d be home,” I responded. “We’ll be fine,” he said. We veered off the highway and onto one of the many dirt roads we aren’t familiar with in rural Colorado. The ..read more