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...

I was out walking this morning, when a huge collection of beautiful blooms stopped me in my tracks. They looked like pom poms! These softball-sized puffs of tiny white flowers looked almost like hydrangea, but the petals were a little bit different. They made me instantly smile when I saw them, so I...

"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...

Our 6-year old daughter spent hours this weekend making "coloring books" (outline drawings on copy paper, bound by a row of staples) to sell door-to-door to neighbors and friends. She was so full of enthusiasm about it, I couldn't help but smile watching her. 

She was working on some more books this ...

Today marks 20 years since Chris and I were married. I had a tender time last night, reflecting on the feelings I had the night before our wedding day. I wasn't jittery, because I know for sure Chris was the one for me, and that God was 100% on board with our union. But I do remember feeling apprehe...

As children of God, every of us is called to something bigger. And not just once! Again and again, building on each development from before. We are here to build strength and make progress as we exercise our power to choose and to create.

"Something bigger" doesn't always look like more, or flashier,...

Yesterday I had a random idea to reach out to a friend and invite her to go walking with me while our kids were at their youth activities at church. Immediately following the idea, a wave of excuses and doubts flowed in:

• She probably already has other plans.
• She's going to think it's a lame idea...

One of my favorite movies of all time is My Fair Lady, starring Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle. I've remember watching it with my mom as a little girl, singing and dancing along to "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?". And that stunning scene of her in the dress at the top of the steps before the ball....🤩 ...

Today is my beautiful mama's birthday! She's not here to celebrate in person (graduated early from this life when I was 7), but we love thinking about her extra today and remembering all of the light and goodness she brought while she was here.

Mom passed away at age 33. I don't know very many people...

Courage happens when what's in your heart is bigger than what's in your head. 

It can take you over and around barriers, push you across borders, and carry you for miles when you think you might be too tired to go on. 

Giving your head the microphone keeps those barriers, borders, and distances in the...