• On Being a Mom in the Midst of Grief

    It was a typical Friday at the end of summer.  I wrangled the kids around the table, poured cereal and milk into bowls, wiped the kitchen counter, and sprayed the crack in the floor where the ants were coming in.  I threw the laundry in the dryer, a load I accidentally left in the washing machine overnight. The three year old settled into my lap to hear a story while the older girls played legos at the table.  Mid-morning, I applied sunscreen to six faces and we went to our favorite beach spot. The baby chased seagulls and the big kids asked me to count how long they could hold…

  • Pressing on during Advent: Our rhythms have a purpose

    My Advent reading yesterday morning took me back to road trips in the mid-1980’s when we would make the twelve hour drive in my dad’s beat up green Ford Granada with the peeling orange roof, to my grandparents’ house in Florida.  There was no air conditioning and a leather interior, so our legs would stick to the seats, our hair would blow in the wind, and conversation was almost impossible. I’m still not sure why my parents let us bring crayons on those trips; they always melted in between the seats and we got crayon bits under our fingernails when we tried to pry them free.  Lunch was either tuna…

  • Thirteen Words for the New Mom

        Those first few days and weeks with a newborn are some of the most difficult and wonderful ones you will ever experience.  May these words, listed out as part of a Five Minute Friday, give you hope and encouragement.   Rest as much and as long as possible.  Receive offers of food and help. Ask for help when you need it.  No one expects you to be a superhero. Renew your mind with the truth of God’s Word. Rejoice in the gift of new life. Reflect on the delivery of your baby. Persevere in the midnight feedings and hormonal challenges. Believe that the promises of God are true for you today. Come to…

  • God’s Word: An Exquisite Feast for the Soul

        During the summer between my junior and senior years of college, I spent six weeks living with a missionary family in France.  It was my first time in Europe and I loved every moment. From the cobbled streets, to the bustling city, to the fields of lavender in the countryside, France was just as romantic and picturesque as I had imagined.  And the food, oh the food was irresistible. Almost every corner hosted a bakery or cafe, and on my walk to work each morning, I would stop and stare at the displays of pastries behind the counter. Smells of freshly baked bread, spits of lamb roasting for…

  • How To Live Victoriously When You Feel Defeated By Life

      For my fifth birthday, my parents allowed me to invite a few friends for a party at the fun new pizza place in town.  There was an arcade area with a variety of silly games, so we all got coins and could play to our heart’s content. My favorite was “Whack a Mole”, the one where you pick up a padded mallet and proceed to hit the heads of moles as they pop up through the holes on the board.  They surface so fast you can barely react quickly enough, and while you’re trying to knock one down, another one appears. The goal, of course is to make contact…

  • The Marathon of Motherhood: Persevere, Hope, & Turn Toward Heaven

      The cabinet gets filled at least once a month, and each time I stare at the shelves of diapers and pull-ups and wonder, “Is this the last time I’ll do this?  Are we getting close to the end?  When will this season be over?”  Nine years — and counting — that we’ve been changing diapers.  There was a two-month break in 2012, right before our third child was born, but other than that, the most consistent thing in my mothering has been the buying, changing, and disposing of diapers.  It’s a never-ending cycle and lately I’ve been feeling weary from the monotony–and let’s be real, the disgust–of changing multiple diapers…

  • Ability vs Capacity: Joyfully Embracing Your Season of Life

    “I’m just not sure who I am anymore.” “I can’t seem to find my place.” “Before kids there were so many ways that I was able to serve and now I feel like my life is only about wiping bottoms, feeding people and trying to keep my children alive.” “If I could just get beyond this stage of parenting, then I’ll be able to get back into ministry.”   These statements are just a sampling of ones I have heard, either from people in my real life, from women online, or from my own soul through the years of raising little ones.     It’s easy to fall into the…

  • The Spiritual Discipline of Remembering

      They say nothing really prepares you for motherhood.  Almost nine years in, and five kids later, I agree.  I read the books, I asked the questions, I watched those ahead of me on the path. And yet when I started having babies I had to figure everything out.  The nursing, the quieting down a screaming infant, learning how each child responds differently to structures, their own emotions, and the people around them.   One milestone is reached, one routine established, one question answered, and the next day you find yourself starting all over again.   If you like order, routine, and predictably, motherhood will throw you off your game in…

  • The Secret to a Loving Family

        Bradley and I have a recurring conversation about raising our family, and it usually takes place after watching an episode of Parenthood, or when all of our children are playing together, having fun and getting along.  We’ll look at one another and say, “This is great.  I hope these kids stay friends like this forever.  What can we do to make sure this happens?”   In other words, what will make the seven of us always live in perfect peace with one another?   We try to pay attention to the relationships of other families, noting the good and the bad, especially in adult sibling relationships.  Is there mutual…