She waited up for me…and I found her asleep on my pillow, still and quiet, sleeping next to daddy. Her, my last one. My baby of 5, and she had been wanting me. And I know this won’t always be… I scoop her up and walk to her room, and I pause there at the maroon chair–this […]
For When We Need to Slow Down Time to See the Beauty
I sleep with the window open because the cool breeze is irresistible. The days have been beautiful here, not too cold or too hot, and it’s been a wonderful spring to enjoy. And I’ve woken up every morning this past week to a symphony of birds singing–chirping and tweeting and talking to each other. And while they’re […]
When You’re in Need of a Book to Change Your Life
I want to write a book someday. And if there’s one thing I know about becoming an author, whatever I write needs to matter—it needs to be capable of changing a life. And there are many books that have done that for me–books that left me changed. Books that have a message that stays with me long […]
How the Invisible Becomes Visible Again {Naming the Gifts and Giving Thanks}
I’m leading a women’s discipleship group through a 6-week intensive–reading God’s Word and journaling daily, memorizing scripture, serving others and reading Ann‘s book, One Thousand Gifts. And while they read, I re-read it all over again. It’s been over a year and a half since I first read her scratched-out words, and they are still changing […]
A Sacrifice of Thanks {Giving Thanks Even When You Don’t Feel It}
It’s another Monday morning and I awake to the messes. Why is it that they never end? The laundry begs my company. The beds are unmade. Clothes are strewn on the floor. The kids are still eating breakfast, and we are late starting our day. There are multitudes of messes, with toys strewn throughout the […]
Gratitude in Grief {When Giving Thanks Brings Joy}
Is it possible to have gratitude in grief? I watch them enter with grace and take their seat in the front row: the son and daughter and husband who miss her so. The granddaughter and grandson. The sister and great-grandchildren, and all the family and friends–all of them here to remember. I see the flowers […]
Giving Thanks Amidst the Crowd
I hear the crowd, and the complaining of discontented hearts. I listen to the grumbling of their discouraged souls. And I wish for them, the joy that comes in giving thanks from a grateful heart. I wish for them to know the freedom that is found in the discipline of gratitude. And although there is definite disappointment in […]
Giving Thanks to Him with Song
Music has always been so important to me. I remember being in 3rd grade, driving in the car with my mom, and learning the harmony part to This Land is Your Land. She always sang with me in the car, and it is with her, I practiced training my ear to hear harmony. As I […]
When Thanks Demands a Sacrifice
It’s late as I sit down to write this weekly gratitude post and I don’t feel like being thankful tonight. It’s been a long week, a rough day, and I’m tired. Tired of swimming upstream to give thanks. Tired of this season of life. Tired of reading perky posts where thanks is listed in a seemingly easy stream […]
For When the Aching Causes Us to Look Up and Give Thanks
Aches, fever, and chills here today, bringing me a greater appreciation for health. I’ve been stopped in my tracks—my body forcing me to be still. Even in the face of all I have to accomplish, even with all the things on my to-do list (things that aren’t going to go away), all day I’ve rested under the covers […]
