Our Blog
Encouragement for every season of lifeJoy and Grief
Joy and grief are unlikely friends. In our journey of parenting a child with special needs and global developmental delays, however, joy and grief are often neighbors in the same day, hour, or moment. I’ve been really scaling back on my time on social media lately....
Monthly Book Lists for Kids
I love our library, and the kids love it too. We go to Lego Time when we can, and our library has a really huge creative play area where they can play store, kitchen, mailman, and ice cream shop. My trouble is in picking out good books. The kids usually pick them out...
Listen
Listen. Do you hear that? Quiet. Peaceful quiet. One of my favorite times of the day is when I awaken before everyone else in the house and slip into my comfortable chair, grab my blanket, and listen. God always shows up in these moments. Actually, he’s the one who...
The Burden of Too Much
One of the wisest women I know is my mother-in-law, Mary. She has been my mentor since I married the love of my life more than 29 years ago. That is a blessing not many can claim. Her wisdom and insights were pivotal for me when I was a newlywed. Some of the talks and...
Stop Striving; Come Know Me
Stop Striving; Come Know Me A poem by Kristen Ostrem You don't have to strive, and you don't have to hide. Pretending, performing, and masking are facades that all root from pride. You're afraid you're not good enough, disappointed you haven't done enough— You get...
The Polygamist’s Daughter – Book Review and Author Interview
Just over two years ago, I met a sweet lady named Anna. She is a fun, bubbly lady with a beautiful smile and a penchant for emojis and exclamation marks. A few months later, we were at a retreat together, and I got to hear her speak about her personal story. Wow. Just...
7 Ways to Express Gratitude
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” - William Arthur Ward When someone gives me praise for a job well done, I love it! I can live off of that compliment for days. It touches me that someone noticed a good deed or...
Give Me a Break
Are you having one of those days? You know, the ones where you’ve just cleaned the kids’ room and moved onto the bathroom, only to have your 2-year-old empty the dresser drawers? The days where the kitchen that you swept is sprinkled with cookie crumbs again and now a...
Yield to Surge
“Everything’s changed; you’ll never do ministry the same.” Recently I reflected on these words my friend had said long ago, referring to a time God spoke to her about her path in ministry. Her and her husband co-lead as pastors, and they both realized that in order to...
Paleo Zuppa Toscana
My friend Samantha is an amazing cook. I literally want to gobble everything in sight when we have dinner at her house. After my third daughter was born, she kindly brought a delicious zuppa toscana to our home during my recovery from surgery. Like me, my children...
