He Named Me

We didn’t expect to spend Thanksgiving in the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, but there my husband and I were, trekking down the long white hallway carrying store-bought pumpkin bars for the nurses. Our little five-pound girl curled up in the plastic...

What To Do When You’re Tired

Some days I wake up in the morning, and the first thing I say is, “I am so tired.” At times, fatigue seems to overtake me. There are many reasons for this fatigue: lack of sleep, lack of iron, lack of time, lack of self-care, overcommitment, and disobedience to God’s...

Your Story Matters

I had the opportunity this past week to interview a 94-year-old man who was born in Austria, primarily raised in Hungary, and later immigrated to the United States. His story was fascinating, and it was my job to take his life story and condense it to 1500 words for...

Leap of Faith

This summer, my family spent six days camping. Three days we were with family friends at St. Croix State Park, and the next three days we were at Gooseberry Falls State Park with families from our church. On the first night of camping, we sat around the campfire and...

The Stain is the Story

Worn wood edges resist my diligent scrubbing. I scrape with fingernails and put my elbow grease to good use against my foes—flecks of fuchsia nail polish, a rainbow of paint splatters, glitter now a permanent part of the wood grain, and an array of marker stripes. My...