I love Christmas. When it gets to be about that time of year, I’m quick to switch the family over to my carefully-curated playlist that features all of my favorites. I love the memories, the time with family, the movies, all of it. But as much as I love Christmas, I’ve come to realize that Easter is more important. Although we needed Christmas to happen to get to Easter 33 years later, without Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection, His birth doesn’t mean as much. Making Easter a bigger deal Last year my husband and I decided we wanted to make Easter
Category: Blog
My blog articles spanning a variety of topics, from parenting advice and thoughts about mom life to Bible insight and more.
We’ve all lived in those seasons when life is difficult. We call them “survival mode” at my house–we’re just doing what we need to do to survive, putting one foot in front of the other. They may look different for each of us, with different circumstances and time periods, but there’s one thing they all have in common: they’re hard. How should we respond during those times? How do we keep from giving in to discouragement and giving up? I happened to come across biblical insight on this from two different places at the same time–just another example of God
God’s been talking to me about prayer recently. Everywhere I turn, there’s another reminder that I need to set aside time in my day to talk to Him. Pray Without Ceasing 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 is one of my favorite Bible passages: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. I like it because it tells us what God’s will is: rejoice, pray, give thanks–no matter what’s going on. And yet, the prayer piece of that has always eluded me. I just haven’t figured out how to
Becoming a mom has helped me understand things about God better than anything else. The relationship between a child and parent parallels the relationship between us and God in all sorts of ways. For example: Just like a baby or toddler doesn’t have the capability to grasp concepts the way adults do, I don’t have the capacity to grasp so much of God and His creation. Because I love my kids, sometimes I let them struggle through things that are hard for them. I see the bigger context of what’s going on than my kids are able to see, just
I originally posted this on my previous blog, My Life Commentary , when my grandpa passed away two years ago. I recently decided to revisit it as I thought about his birthday coming up, and it was a heartwarming reminder of the man he was and who I want to be, too. I pray God will help me take on some of these attributes my grandpa was known for during his 106 years of life. While I’m glad my grandpa is home and no longer confined to his failing body, I’ll miss him and fondly remember the time I was
How many times do you hear your kids whine, “It’s not fair!” Despite all the advantages my kids have, life is still hard. They will still face challenges. As a parent, how can I prepare them for those tough situations right around the corner? In Chip Ingram’s series, Effective Parenting in a Defective World , he shares five things to teach your kids to prepare them for life’s biggest battles. Here are the takeaways that stood out to me from his main points. Suffering is normal This world isn’t perfect. There will be suffering. Jesus told us we can expect
You are not alone. We’ve all been there. We get it. Your baby has shown you a brand new level of love, but being Mom to this tiny, helpless person’s world is HARD. It’s exhausting in a way you never thought possible–physically and emotionally. I didn’t even realize how much I was struggling until years later. I didn’t have postpartum depression or any other type of diagnosed complication. I just had a brand new baby, and suddenly, while recovering from the most traumatic event my body had ever gone through (a very normal birth), I needed to shift my focus
When things work out just perfectly, how do you view the circumstance? Is it coincidence? Fate? Destiny? I see it as evidence of God weaving everything together in His master plan. That’s what he did for David. Here was a guy coming up in the world. He’d defeated Goliath. He had a place in the king’s court, fortune, a wife, a trusted friend. He was respected. But then King Saul got worried about him. He decided David was a threat, and in an instant David lost it all: his position, prosperity, partner, peer, pride, and more. He ran for the
Are you happy? How do you find happiness ? Is it in success? Relationships? Following your heart? As much as our culture touts the importance of doing what makes you happy, it seems like people are anything but. Like no matter what we achieve, who we know, or how we feel, there are lingering feelings of insecurity, sadness, and hopelessness beneath the surface. They say, “You’re not good enough.” The truth is, the pursuit of happiness will never be fulfilling–no matter what the founding fathers or anyone else thinks. Where is your focus? As I was going through some old
I originally posted this on Emily Blogs the Bible , back on Tuesday, January 8, 2019. While I didn’t successfully memorize the verse as I had hoped, I do believe I internalized it in a way that God has used. Revisiting it now is a good reminder to continue to focus on Jesus as the source of wisdom! We’ve been reading through Proverbs with our life group and are working on memorizing a verse of our choosing from the book. I’m not very good at memorization, but I agree it’s good to do! I’ve chosen Proverbs 4:13. I picked this