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The Beginning Of Conflict Resolution
I can’t tell you how much I want to say I have this down. This was a big eye-opener for me. You see, I recently found out that a dear friend of mine has been speaking unkind things about someone I love and lying. Honestly, my reaction was of hurt and brokenness. Externally I was quiet and listening to someone tell me what was being said about them by this person. Internally though, I questioned why they would deliberately and intentionally lie and say such things? I mean, this person is a good friend of mine. This person knows that the things they are saying aren’t true. I kept playing…
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What God Knows I Need
Life is an adventure. No day is exactly the same, and sometimes, the days look nothing alike. We laugh at the funny moments that come our way and cry when things hurt. And we usually do this alongside someone. There’s usually someone we can always go to. The one person who is always there for us, ready to laugh with us, cry with us, and hand us the tissue when we need it. He, or she, may hug us, hold us, comfort us, laugh with us, and help us when we need them. Can you think of this person right now? Who comes to your mind? Is it your mother…
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Something Special I Treasure
I remember when I held them in my arms for the first time. They were perfect. So small, so innocent. Kaelem was born in the summer, and Emberlynn was born in the fall. He was born fifteen months before her. It was love at first sight. The snuggle in my neck, the first time I held their hands in mine. So beautiful. It seemed like they’d never get here, and yet, there they were. That first night spent with him was special. Rocking him in the chair, gazing at him as he was sleeping. Watching her look around the room and rest her eyes on mine. There’s nowhere else I’d…
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More Than Just An Attribute
Last night, my husband shared something he learned while spending time with God. He shared how little we think about the Holy Spirit as a person. It can be easy and normal to think of the Holy Spirit as an attribute to God and Jesus, but the Bible refers to Him as a person. If you already knew this, that’s great! I had heard this from when I was a little girl, but honestly, looking back, I have never treated Him as a person. I want to share his thoughts with you today. It’s such a privilege to learn with my husband and see how much we can grow together.…
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A New Heart
When I was a little girl, life was amazing. In my backyard, I could be whoever I wanted. One day, I would be an Indian living independently, cooking from a pit with leaves and apples. Sticks were my utensils, and my hands were bowls that I would use to eat the food I pretended to cook. Other days, I caught butterflies, held lady bugs in my hand, and played in the sprinklers with my siblings. I even climbed to the highest part of my apple tree just to experience the adventure. My backyard was safe. I didn’t worry about anything. Nothing scary happened. I didn’t fear for my life. I…
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Faithfulness Over Worry
I love taking care of my children. They love each other so much. As soon as Kealem sees his little sister, Emberlynn, he runs up and greets her with the biggest smile on his face. He opens the door to her room, and you hear them exchange a “Hello” to each other, followed by laughs and giggles! I love watching them grow up together. Kaelem is a fun boy. He isn’t outgoing, but as he gets older, I see him coming out of his shell more and more. He is always happy, sweet, and kind. He’s very thoughtful and takes care of his little sister. Emberlynn loves people! She is…
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In The Middle Of My Waiting
I am not the most patient person in the world, but I don’t mind waiting for a bit. I just don’t like to wait longer than I have (want) to. Does that make sense? I don’t think any of us want to wait for something we look forward to, ever. It seems like the minutes, hours, and days pass by ever more slowly when we anticipate good things to come to us. But, what about the hard times? What about when a situation seems hopeless. You know there is a solution, but it takes forever. Or maybe we are in the middle of a challenging circumstance, and it doesn’t look like…
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A Perfect Love
Understanding love is complicated. It’s not black and white, and there are many types of love too. There’s the love we get from our parents, love we get from friends, love we have for people in general, the love we have for our spouses. There is one kind of love that we aren’t always familiar with. Some of us may know this love, others may have known this love at one time, and others may have never known this love at all. God’s love. The Bible talks about a perfect person coming down to us, in the form of a baby, born of a virgin, sent to seek and save…
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Realities
Brokenness is hard. Nothing about being broken is easy. It’s vulnerable and humbling. As children, we grow up thinking life is full of these fantastic opportunities and experiences we’ll experience as we get older. We dream of becoming something and doing great things! Little by little, things start to shift. Our dreams, goals, desires, they change. But the idea that life will work out does not. Our high school graduation comes, and we begin to branch out, do things on our own, make something of ourselves. Then the college years come and go. It doesn’t matter that we eat ramen noodles for breakfast, lunch, and dinner or that our car…
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Identity
This topic of identity has come up a lot in recent years. There’s a big confusion regarding seeing ourselves as we truly are. Who would you say that you are? Do you know? Before you list off a bunch of things, let’s take a moment to sit in silence, really take it in, and think about this for a little. If we take away every title, we have. Mother, father, brother, manager, employee, boss, friend, co-worker, nanny, daycare provider, teacher, engineer, programmer, consultant, customer service rep, who do we have? Yes, I am a daughter, a mother, a wife, a friend. I’m a speaker, a teacher, a hostess, a…
