Have you ever felt like a change was coming, but you don’t know what or when? Like you’re just waiting for the next step? Our Family’s Recent Change Almost a month ago, our family moved an hour north to live in the community where my husband became a pastor back in March. This was an answer to many prayers and a long period of trusting that God was directing us somewhere, and waiting for His timing. Looking back, we started feeling a change was coming more than 5 years ago. As time went on, we felt less and less settled
Have you ever felt like you’re in a season of waiting? Like you were in a holding pattern before a big change? That was me last fall, when I started doing Priscilla Shirer’s Elijah study with some women at my church. I felt like God was preparing our family for something , like a big change was just around the corner. Like he was preparing us to leave this church family we’d been part of for more than 10 years. Then, during week two, we started studying examples of God’s preparation during separation, and I felt like it was exactly
If you met someone new, how would you describe yourself? I might say I’m a mother of three, a working mom, a pastor’s wife, a blogger. Those are titles that describe my different roles and responsibilities, but do they really describe who I am? If I tried to describe my personality, I might say I’m a silly optimist who loves color-coded spreadsheets and likes to relax by escaping into the lives of my fictional friends on Netflix, Prime, and Disney Plus. Or if I pulled my past in, I might say I’m a California transplant living in the Pacific Northwest,
I’ve been trying to think about what I put in my mind lately . I have limited time to watch or listen to things, so there’s an element of trying not to waste precious minutes or hours. But I’m also trying to consider: how is this going to benefit my life? It may seem silly to think a podcast or TV show may change your life, but it does! Whatever I think about and dwell on affects how I feel, my opinions, and decisions I make. Those little choices add up to who I am and what my life looks
When I have a busy, long day, sometimes the last thing I want to do is open my Bible. It’s not that I’m running away from God, but it takes more thought when I’m already tired. And it’s yet another thing getting in the way of just doing what I want to do. I spend all day doing everything for everyone else–by the time I have a few minutes to myself, I want to just do what I feel like doing. However, I’ve noticed a pattern: when I’m more consistent about turning my focus on God, rather than myself, I
I am incredibly blessed. On paper, I have more than I ever thought possible: A funny, wise, loving husband. Three wonderful children. A career I really enjoy. Supportive parents and siblings on both sides of our family. Friends near and far. And yet, life is hard. As amazing as my husband is, we’re both flawed people and marriage takes work. As wonderful as my children are, they’re also flawed and have years of maturing ahead of them. As much as I enjoy my career, it can be mentally exhausting; some days it completely drains my capacity for making decisions and
Like most busy moms, I feel like it’s hard to find peace. The kids are running around making messes, I have a million things to do, and the chaos exponentially increases. The more I try to do it all, the more I fail, and the more I need to remind myself I can’t do it all by myself. I think that’s why 2 Peter 1:2 resonated so much with me recently. “May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” I really like how Priscilla Shirer presented it during the Going
If I were to ask your kids what you tell them the most, what would they say? Mine would probably answer with phrases like: Have you emptied the dishwasher yet? Why aren’t you dressed? Get off your sister’s head! While those are things I need to repeat over and over, I hope they’re also hearing the more positive messages I make an effort to try to repeat: I love you so much. I’m proud of you. God created you and designed you intentionally. He doesn’t make mistakes. Jesus loves you even more than Daddy and I do! I tell them