failure isn’t always a loss
When I stress, I lean in one of two directions-🅕🅡🅞🅩🅔🅝 or 🇼 🇮 🇩 🇪 open.
For 2 weeks, I’ve been crafting... so you can sorta guess which direction I leaned.
Scripture memorization
Have you ever wanted to have more scripture memorized, but couldn’t wrap your head around how to make it happen? I know I have. How can you make memorization happen when short on available time, little to zilch down time, & your brain is pressed closed from an already full to do list?
faithful Christmas
Something huge happens when we remove our wants from Christmas and start chasing our needs. Christmas begins to look very different, it feels different and vibrant, and an excitement emerges. Bleak taught us how to see beauty.
Elizabeth and Mary
There are times when the best decisions you will ever make will require you to walk some of the hardest journeys. That’s where we meet Mary….
Christmas prayers: grace
𝙃𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚, 𝙨𝙤 𝙃𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙪𝙨 𝙂𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚.
the extending of kindness
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞-𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑒.
the counting of 2020
I started counting down last week, marking the days that would make up the ending of 2020. I counted to thirty-eight.
prayer for finishing this year
Gʀᴀᴄɪᴏᴜs Lᴏʀᴅ, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 48 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦.
power of praise
In the middle of uncertainty, it’s understandable to feel anxiety & the fretful pangs of worry. Raising hands & pushing oneself to praise anyways? It’s radical. It flies in the face of logic. 𝙄𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜.
the growth of growing pains
When we started this crazy homeschool adventure in 2009, graduation wasn’t even on my radar. Here we are-him spreading wings, me grateful that I was able to share this part of his life journey with him.
don’t do life alone
The day that I thought a shower plus hair wash plus shaving all on the same day was a luxury 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 have been thoroughly eye opening and disappointing.
naming the unnamed things
For my birthday, I asked for furniture. Not the shiny kind, but more the practical kitchen island from free diy Pinterest plans-just call me Mrs Fancy over here. When we went to get the tools out of the shed, a small weak meow whispered.
it’s okay to be angry-just don’t live there
When someone asked me a decade ago why I wasn’t already writing for special needs parents, my gut response wasn’t pretty. It was honest, but not pretty at all. I was scared to write for special needs families. To be able to write in a way that addresses the very real pain points in a way that could be encouraging would mean I’d need to deal with my own pain as a special needs parent. I’d need to dig deep and digging deep can unbury a lot of unpretty things.
gracious Lord
“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” Jᴀᴍᴇs 3:17-18
the lie of perfectionism
I saw someone from high school...that still looked just as beautiful as she did almost three decades ago. I know looks are superficial, but I was gutted.
the turning
The day had started rough. There had been words about college application essays, consonant blends(the “r” can be brutal, yes?), morning chores not done, and a bike that had brakes removed and thrown away(that one still does not make sense, but I digress).