The Best Books I Read and Loved in 2023

I wasn’t sure how my reading life would change when I started working full-time for my church last January. I suspected that I wouldn’t be able to read as much, and I was correct! But books have been my main hobby for years now, and I was still able to make the time to read […]

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The Best Books I Loved in 2022

Reading is my favorite thing to do, and this year I read over 75 titles! Narrowing down my favorite reads each year is torture, but I’d love to share my favorites with you here. I used the following categories to make it simpler: top fiction, top historical fiction, top Christian nonfiction, best of memoir, and […]

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How To Be Intentional and Reduce Overwhelm This Holiday Season

We know the holiday season is coming: we can see it around the bend, looming larger and larger as it approaches. Soon Thanksgiving will be behind us and then we’ll be scrambling to prepare for Christmas! These next few months are usually intense, like someone has turned up the dial on all the noise, all […]

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God Wants You to Rest (here’s your official permission slip)

One day a few months ago, I had blocked out a two-hour chunk of time in which to write. My kids were at school and my husband was at work and the house was quiet and interruption-free. I sat at my writing desk with my notebook and favorite pen and waited for the words to […]

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6 New Mindsets To Help You Overcome Time Anxiety

We stand at the beginning of a brand new year, or a new season, or a new month, or a new day, and time stretches before us, waiting to be filled. And we have a pile of blocks beside us, ready to build something beautiful with the time we’ve been given. Some of the blocks […]

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How To Live Life to the Full Without a Full Schedule

My seven-year-old looked adorable in his basketball jersey. It hung down way past his waist, but he didn’t care. He was too excited for his first day of the basketball program through our YMCA: skills assessment day. He was one of the most enthusiastic participants on the gym floor, and we cheered him on from […]

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The Best Books I Read in 2021

Reading is my favorite hobby, and this year I read over 80 titles! Narrowing down my favorite reads was an agonizing process, but I’d love to share my favorites with you here. I used the following categories to make it simpler: top fiction, best of young adult (YA), best of memoir, best Christian nonfiction, most […]

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Holiday Shopping to Change the World: Holiday Gifts That Give Back

One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is spreading God’s love through gift giving! Most of the time, I’m not a huge fan of our consumerist culture which insists that I just need to buy more to be happy. But… I do believe that our consumerism can be redemptive! When we are thoughtful […]

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Three Steps to Having the Best Holiday Season (for YOUR Family)

Now that Halloween is behind us, we are officially in the holiday season. Thanksgiving is right around the corner and Christmas comes on its heels. This was my favorite time of year as a child, and I still love it—but now as a mom, I understand how much work goes on behind the scenes to […]

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4 Tips To Help You Engage in the Spiritual Practice of Play

“Play with me, mommy!” I hear this a lot, and I bet you do too. Right after the earnest request, one of my boys will lead me by the hand toward their block tower, or superhero capes, or plastic doctor playset. In recent years, I’ve battled more than my share of beyblades, lost many Nerf […]

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