Because December comes, I will be awake. I will proclaim God’s glory in the light of day because December nights are long. Roll down the windows, shake your slumbered senses awake, and remember the joy of living. December has a way of rattling our false sense of permanency, doesn’t it? We turn over our calendars to…… Continue reading Because December…

“I am the light of the world. The person who follows me will never live in darkness but will have the light that gives life.” John 8:12 Source: An Unexpected Light – KC Parent – December 2015 – Kansas City

Happy Thanksgiving! Thoughts of gratitude are flowing thick in our house, which also brings to mind a few things I’m not feeling particularly thankful for this year… 1. Coffee- it has been about eight years since you first showed up at our house and now I can’t get you to leave. You’re demanding, pretentious, and bitter.…… Continue reading 5 Things I’m Not Thankful for This Thanksgiving

In one fell swoop reading great books enhances our children’s relational, academic, social, emotional, and creative intelligences. A story can take us to the end of our own experiences and beyond; into worlds of imagination where we’d never dreamed of going on our own. For thirteen years I’ve been sharing my love of stories with my…… Continue reading Raising Lifelong Readers (with book lists!)

The longer I live this unraveling life the more I believe in grace. It’s defined as the “free and unmerited favor of God” in Bible terms. Free isn’t something we grasp easily because it doesn’t exist in our world. In fact, based on this definition only God is able to offer true grace. Our best…… Continue reading A Heart Stapled to His

He and I share a quirky sense of humor. We also share childhood memories; some heart wrenching and others heart warming. He crafted my first haircut, bangs shaped like the St. Louis Arch. I have the kindergarten yearbook photo to prove it. He was my first front yard soccer coach and my biggest competitor on…… Continue reading To Know and Be Known

I only knew her four and a half years. She taught me to say shush instead of shut up because “It sounded much nicer.” That’s how most memories of my mom are, just momentary glimpses into the kind of person she was and wanted me to become. She died in July of 1985 from cancer. Four…… Continue reading Missing Out on Mother’s Day

My kids are going to have memories of me pulling the car over to chase down photo opportunities of random flowers and trees, which I’m hoping doesn’t require too many hours of future counseling. I pray in their own way they realize the value in seeking and seeing beauty even in the most familiar places. The trees…… Continue reading Hope for the Empty Shell

You only live once. YOLO. People everywhere thought this edgy, throw-caution-to-the-wind approach to life was front page news for a quick, pop culture minute. Finally, a hashtag that truly captures the meaning to all of life! If you’ve lived long enough you know this mantra is as old as Eve biting into a piece of forbidden fruit.…… Continue reading The Second Chance Life