• Day 31 :: For your Weekend- Links to wrap it up

    I always finish off these October series feeling relieved but also energized.  This is the fifth year I’ve participated in this writing challenge and it’s also the first year that I had absolutely nothing written in advance.  I had some post titles and a few random thoughts, but that was about it.  And I was a little apprehensive about how it would go. I’m so thankful for the ones who graciously guest posted for me (Sherri, Heather, Martha, Callie, Bradley).  I love what each of them shared and it was especially helpful because I ended up being a single parent for the last two weeks of the month which significantly affected…

  • Day 30:: We are pilgrims together

    My daughters, The lessons I’ve shared with you are just a drop in the bucket compared to the number of things that I want you to know.  Life is full of joys and sorrows, and nothing I can say could ever fully prepare you for the road that lies ahead. But I can offer you Jesus.  The One who has gone before us, making a way for us to have peace with God and to live an abundant life in Christ. As challenging as this life might be, it is not the end. We are pressing forward to an eternity with Jesus, the One who will always be enough. So, I…

  • Day 29 :: Remember Who You Are

    Today I have the privilege of introducing you to my husband, Bradley.  He is a wonderful husband and a loving and patient father to our children.  I am incredibly thankful that he is the Daddy to my girls (and Mason).  He teaches and loves them well. Bradley wrote a beautiful letter to our girls.  One that I hope they will read over and over throughout their lives. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++   My girls, When I was quite a bit younger, my parents would tell me something whenever we were going to be separated for a period of time. Whether I was heading off to camp, or they were leaving on a trip, they would…

  • Day 28 :: Guard your heart

    “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”  Proverbs 4:23 When I was a teenager this verse became my mantra as it pertained to relationships with guys.  I didn’t want to ‘give my heart away’ or become emotionally attached to anyone that I didn’t think I could potentially marry.  While I’m confident that the Lord used this to protect me from relational heartache, I also think that I misunderstood the point of this verse. Keeping, or guarding, our hearts goes much deeper than protecting it from emotional involvement and/or potential emotional hurt.  And it covers a lot more than relationships with the opposite sex. We hear…

  • Day 27 :: Guest Post: Choosing to love those who are different

    Today I want to introduce to you to my friend Callie.  I first met Callie the day after we moved into our apartment in Monterey, when she and her husband invited us over for dinner.  Callie (and her husband) loved us well from the beginning.  Gifts have randomly appeared on my doorstep over the years, and in the mail, and without even looking I know who sent them.  Callie is always looking for ways to serve others, whether through gifts or by simply being a good friend.  She’s one of those faithful friends who knows how to love, think of others first, and give unconditionally. Callie is a Navy wife,…

  • Day 26 :: The Exhausting work of love

    Loving others like we love ourselves is a pretty high calling.  One that I struggle with on a daily basis.  It’s even hard to love my husband in this way, the one I committed my life to and vowed to love.  And my children?  I would give my life for them in a heartbeat.  But what about when they disobey, ignore my instructions, crack eggs all over the kitchen floor, and get out of bed multiple times before finally settling down? Loving others is exhausting. Why?  Shouldn’t it just be easy?  Shouldn’t it be a simple overflow of the Love that God has given to us? Yes.  And no. Christian…

  • Day 25 :: A Sunday Prayer

    “Think of others before yourself.” This is an often-repeated phrase in our household.  Maybe my kids roll their eyes when they hear it, but it’s something that we want to become a fiber of their being.  We want them to treat others as they would want to be treated, yes.  But before they can do that, they must truly value others. Our Prayer of Confession this morning at church fit beautifully with what I wanted to share today. As I read through the words of this prayer in church this morning, I was struck again with how self-centered I tend to be. Our hearts need to be healed.  My heart needs…

  • Day 24 :: For Your Weekend – Links on Loving Well

    If anyone that I know loves well it is this boy. He knows no stranger.  He smiles and lights up any room he enters.  He adores his sisters.  He can’t get enough of his Grandparents when we Face Time. His favorite person to love?  His Daddy.  And he misses him like crazy right now.  While I finished making dinner last night, Mason was laying on the floor in the mudroom, looking out the back door and crying “Daddy!”  While it made me sad because he doesn’t understand why Bradley hasn’t been home, it also proved to me the depth of Mason’s love for his Daddy. We want our kids to…

  • Day 23 :: Love, think of others first, give unconditionally

    The number of lessons I want to teach my children is innumerable.  Because we’re all learners.  Regardless of how old we might be or how many life experiences we’ve collected along the way, there is always more knowledge to gain and ways that we could grow. Over the next few days I want to spend some time on lessons for my girls about relationships.  We all have them.  In fact, from the very beginning of Creation relationships were essential to the order of the Universe. God made man in His image  — the first God to human relationship. God created woman for man — the first human to human relationship. God…

  • Day 22 :: Slips aren’t just for Grandmothers

      “Mommy, that lady’s dress is really short.” My then 4 year old said this to me as we were pulling out of the parking lot at church one Sunday morning and it completely floored me. I didn’t remember ever talking with her about dress length, so the fact that she would comment on it was powerful to me.  I had to agree that it was kind of short, but I don’t remember what I said to Isabella in response; however, we did have a brief conversation about modesty. This innocent observation has stuck with me over the past couple of years.  I want to train my girls early on about…