The new year has been rung in! Our fresh start has begun! This time of year is always so exciting with all of the new chances and opportunities it brings. I was making a Shutterfly calendar the other day, and as I got from month to month, I started realizing that this is one of … [See more…]
If you were to name all of the people who God used in the Christmas story to bring about the birth of Jesus into the world, who would you think of? I would say Mary and Joseph (obviously), the wise men, and probably the shepherds. All the people who are in a nativity scene would … [See more…]
I can’t believe it is finally here, but it is officially the Christmas season! My presents are wrapped, Christmas music is playing, and I have already had lots and lots (and lots) of cookies… It really is a wonderful time of the year. As you watch cheery movies and sip your hot chocolate, I hope … [See more…]
In our church, when anyone is teaching and comes across the word “all” in the Bible, they like to say, “All means all and that’s all all means.” I really love it. If nothing else, it’s just fun to say! Go, on. Try it : ) But, on top of all of its catchiness, there’s … [See more…]
Story 1: There was this winter retreat when I was in high school at which I heard the most amazing message. I still remember it to this day. Just wow. Story 2: I was in high school and went to a winter retreat mostly because I was a desert-dwelling kid who wanted to play in … [See more…]
“That was, without a question, one of the hardest things I have ever done,” Benjamin typed on his iPad last Sunday in church, to avoid disrupting the service with whispers. I had watched while he walked back to his seat from his place at the piano and sat down heavily in our pew, and could … [See more…]
It’s nearly Thanksgiving. Can you believe it? The weather is getting cooler, school projects are wrapping up, and it is almost time to feast on some turkeys. But as we get prepared for the whirlwind of cooking and visiting that make up the holiday, it is so important that we take a minute to stop … [See more…]
What is love? Does it have a definition? Do you know it when you see it? Do you know how you’d describe it? If others are supposed to recognize us as followers of Jesus by our love like John 13:35 says, then we’d better know how to answer those questions. We’d better know how to … [See more…]
A few months ago, while I was looking through some of Benjamin’s stuff, I came across this piece of paper. I have no idea where it came from, and neither does Benjamin, but it now hangs up on our bulletin board as a sort of reminder. Across the top, it reads, “All of our actions … [See more…]
For those of you who don’t know me well, despite the fact that I am a blogger and a podcaster who talks an awful lot about my life, I somehow still manage to be an incredibly private person. There are just some things that I don’t talk about. Ever. This is one of them. I … [See more…]