How to be content in a world of want

July 11, 2019.Reading time 8 minutes.

Now that summer is here, I have to do my grocery shopping with both of my boys instead of just one. Besides the obvious fact that it’s much easier to run errands the fewer children you have, I’ve learned something else from observing my kids. When I push the cart through the aisles and Henry, […]

Serving God across the ocean or across the street

July 3, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Living in southern California, I never thought I’d speak French again until one Sunday morning when our church pews were especially crowded and I found myself dusting off my second language like an old pair of boots. My parents moved our family from California to France for full time mission work when I was seven. […]

How to see God in the everyday

June 27, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

I sit down in the early morning hours to get some work done, but I am interrupted by this nagging thought: our dog Barney doesn’t like to poop in the rain. I watch the sprinkles come down and worry that he didn’t do his business while he was outside. I write a sentence, then leave […]

Why you should take the long way home

June 21, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

Every June, we leave our home in San Diego to spend a few months visiting family in our home in Michigan (one of the perks of being married to a professor is all the time off!). It’s the sixth summer we’ve done this and we have a routine: Max drives the 44 hours with the […]

For when you need grace

June 6, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

What do you need grace for today? This week, I find myself in need of rest. We are wrapping up the school year, and gearing up for two months of summer fun with our family in Michigan (this is when it pays off to have a husband who’s a college professor!) The packing/cleaning/shopping to-do lists […]

How to be a “Yes” Mom

May 30, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

It had been a long day. I was still unpacking from a family trip, catching up on laundry and groceries, and doing all the things. I sat down on the couch after dinner, content to let my two boys watch an NBA playoff game with my husband. I had just draped my favorite blanket over […]

How a Lost Stuffed Animal Taught Me to Love Well

May 23, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

We shuffled forward, inch by inch, until we were at the front of the line. A short man in a black suit jacket called us to his register. While the boys played under and around the counter, the man issued us our hotel keys. I took in my surroundings, marveling at the ornate lobby in […]