I recently started taking voice lessons, because I got tired of feeling like I was holding back when I sang. I felt like there was so much more I could do, but didn't know how to break out of where I was. 

In my first lesson, my coach (who is amazing, by the way) taught me 2 things that have helped h...

Yesterday concluded our mother/daughter NYC trip, and goodness did we have a great time. Our feet were like limp noodles; our bellies full of bagels, pizza, and cheesecake; our brains were on overdrive from all of the lights, sounds, and smells of the city... and we couldn't be happier. 

As we waited...

I've been thinking a lot lately about the New Testament story of Jesus and Peter walking on the water. 

If you're not familiar with the story, I'll give you the quick version. After a big day of feeding 5,000 people with only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish -- which took some serious miracle power, Jesu...

I got to sit in on auditions yesterday, to help my friend with casting for a children's musical. 31 adorable kids walked in and out of the room, each showing up with their individual gifts and a full spectrum of nerves/comfort levels. I tried to give my biggest, most friendly smile to ease their min...

I'm working on a project right now that's requiring a lot of faith. It's the heaviest lift (motherhood aside) I've done so far, which is also bringing some stunning miracles to witness. Because of the heavy lifting, sometimes my brain and my spirit get tired and I hear thoughts like, "Who do you thi...

I've talked with several friends who each had incredibly difficult things happen this week (one of them, more than one). As a friend I want to be able to take at least some of the suffering so they don't have to carry it all. It's hard to know what to say or do to be able to support in a way that's ...

It's really easy to hide from your dreams. I've been practicing it for years. It looks really noble, like sticking with what you know for the stability of it, and it works. You get better and better at what you know, and you see great results. But there comes a point when you reach the edge of the s...

"Can't" is a no-no word at our house. Not at the soap-in-your-mouth level, but it definitely gets called out. Why? Because I want our kids to grow up telling the truth. 

Can't is--in most cases--simply not accurate on its own, and can really keep us stuck.

It might feel like you can't in this moment, ...

I had a funny moment last Sunday that our teen girls are having a FANTASTIC time teasing me about.

Normally, I wouldn't voluntarily broadcast an embarrassing story for public enjoyment, but I actually took a couple of powerful lessons from it later on. So here we go.

Our daughters and I were on our wa...

We can dream and discuss the roadtrip for years, planning to the finest detail the snacks, the pit stops, and the sites along the way...but won't actually happen until we get in the car and GO.

Crossing the bridge from "going to" to "on the move" is the hardest part. Once the car is packed and you're...

When we go to accept the call to "something bigger," it's important to be very intentional about which influences we allow in our decision-making process.

To bring this very important concept to life, I like to picture myself in a board room with seats all around the table. At the head of the table ...

It would be really convenient if people could just read our minds so we'd never have to explain our thoughts (...but I guess it's probably a good thing if your thoughts are like mine -- not always kind or accurate ). I'm pretty good at articulating my thoughts in writing, but when it comes to lettin...