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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…
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Reflecting on a Year of Practicing Sabbath
“I’m prescribing rest for you.” Words I never would have expected to hear from my Doctor had me fighting tears in the examining room. I’m not sick, in fact my health is stellar with low blood pressure, no abnormalities in this pregnancy, and minimal discomfort at this phase. But I think she could tell from our conversation that I was tired and possibly trying to do too much. Rest doesn’t come easily to me. “There will always be something else that needs to be done,” were her words to me that day and that has always been the battle in my mind when I try to take a few…
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4 Creative Ways to Re-engage Your Heart in Your Study of the Bible
About three years ago, we had just moved to a new city, and I was in the midst of unpacking our belongings, homeschooling our oldest, adjusting to a very cold Virginia winter, and eager to get settled and make friends. I was reading my Bible, trying to maintain as much normalcy as possible and longing for connection with the Lord, but it felt empty. I would open my journal, write down some thoughts, and then open my Bible, hoping for some fresh insights to guide me through my day. Each time, though, I walked away feeling as if nothing was happening in my heart. I guess I would liken…
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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…
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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…
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How to Study Your Bible Using a Notebook & a Pen
When I entered sixth grade, I began attending the youth group at our church and started learning about this thing called “Daily Quiet Time”. At the beginning of the school year we were given a quiet time diary which contained a Bible reading plan for the entire year. Each day had a passage of Scripture and then lined spaces to fill in the answers to two questions: What is the writer saying? How can I apply this to my life? We were encouraged to spend about 30 minutes every day reading our Bibles and praying, using this notebook as we went. I followed this method and it…
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7 Obstacles to Bible Study & How to Overcome them {Part 2}
This is the second part in a two-part post, listing 7 common obstacles to Bible study and some practical tips on how to overcome them. You can find the first post here. Have you ever heard a runner say, “I just NEED to go for a run”? As someone who struggles with a regular exercise routine, this statement always made me skeptical. I would mentally judge them, thinking they were saying this just to sound good and for others to praise the intensity of their commitment. It seemed ridiculous to me that a person would feel like running was a necessity. When I trained for a half marathon…
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7 Obstacles to Bible Study & How to Overcome them {Part 1}
Exercising regularly does not come easily to me. Growing up I was always involved in sports: soccer in the fall and spring, basketball in the winter, swim team in the summer. My life was a constant workout, at least it felt that way. But then I got older, had a job, became a Mom, and when organized sports were no longer in the picture neither was exercise. Any kind of regular workout routine was a chore. And I could come up with all the excuses in the world as to why I just couldn’t make this a priority in my life. Last fall I decided to train…
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3 Tips on how to read your Bible when you have young children
Before I had children there were certain rhythms in my life that came easily. I had a job that required occasional long hours and frequent travel, but for the most part alone time was available whenever I wanted, to do as I pleased. Even with the demands of a job, being a wife, and keeping our home in order, reading and studying my Bible on a daily basis was attainable. With motherhood a lot of things changed and reading my Bible was one of them. I wasn’t guaranteed any moments of quiet, and I was often too tired to use any quiet time that I did have for Bible…
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Why you need your ordinary life
Our neighborhood is a quiet one with tree-lined streets, sidewalks, and simple homes. Most children walk to the neighborhood school, and we often see the same people riding their bikes, walking their dogs, and pushing their babies down the street. The street sweeper comes by every other Friday, the sirens from the fire truck can be heard as it barrels by our house leaving the station around the corner, and we live close enough to the water that when the windows are open I can hear the fog horns. We have a great community, we love our church family, and I sometimes run into people I know at the grocery…
