"Jesus' Birthday is coming, and Santa's gonna bring me presents!" my sweet three year old boy announced with his hands clasped in excitement and a twinkle in his eye. He was sitting at the table while I prepared dinner and listened to my Jesus-Christmas music. One of my children's

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord or fully declare His praise? Psa. 106:1-2 We don't have many special traditions for Thanksgiving that specifically involve giving thanks. We eat. We talk. We play

photo credit I went to bed Election night with a knot in my stomach and woke up the next morning with a heavy heart. First thing in the morning I went on facebook looking for a verse that my sweet friend Carrie had posted on election day. She uses facebook to encourage

 Part two in a series. To read part one click here. Sometimes we hide out of a fear of the outcome. What will people think of me? we wonder. Moses comes to mind: Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early

You are about to give your presentation at work. You have been working on it for months and your future is riding on it. You sit in your chair at the long conference table nervously tapping your pencil as you await your turn. Soon the boss calls your name and you

photo credit Last week we read John chapter 13 in which Jesus washed his disciples' feet. These are the words that got me thinking: So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call

One of my favorite verses right now is a small sentence in a small book of the Bible. I never really noticed it before, but when I read it in the NIV it suddenly came alive for me. photo source That's not the whole verse, but I just needed

CRASH!!!!! My husband and I are jarred from sleep by the sound of the shelf in the kitchen falling to the floor, braking many of the porcelain dishes and nick-nacks displayed on it. The alarm would have gone off in a few minutes anyway, so I dress and start

photo credit Sometimes I wonder how my life started to look like this: Wake up at 6:00 Monday morning pressed between my husband and a small child. He has a child on his other side, too. Get dressed. The first daycare child arrives early. Spend a few minutes with the Lord.

photo credit Today's forecast was in the mid-to-high 90s - rather warm for Northern Michigan - so I decided to take the kids to the beach. By myself.  It should not be a big project since we live only three miles from the shores of Lake Michigan, but somehow it turned out

Last night my husband and I were watching a re-run of an old sitcom where a child about ten years of age asks the parent about the meaning of life. "If we all go to heaven when we die anyway, why does God put us here first?" she said. The

Not long ago, my little girl got a new book. Little Pig Biddle Pig Little pig, biddle pig, pretty and clean, sweet as alfalfa and grand as a queen. Little pig, biddle pig, not far away, those pigglily piglets squeal, "Won't you come play." Little pig, biddle pig, snout