Tag: love

There’s No Such Thing As Annuals

Life Lessons, Spiritual Growth

My mom used to own and operate her own greenhouse. If having a green thumb is a thing, my mom is green head-to-toe – that woman can make anything grow anywhere! Recently, while sitting on my deck looking at the shriveling petunias left over from our 4th of July party, I was saddened by the fact they were almost completely dead. Brown, dry, crisp. With only a hint of their former green life remaining. Not that I hadn’t been caring for them, but Petunias are annuals, which means they only bloom for one season, one year, and then they die. They will not regrow or bloom again next year, their little roots cannot…

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Unqualified

freedom, grace, Life Lessons, Spiritual Growth

Three Summers ago my stomach was in knots as I hit the send button emailing in my application to work as a camp counselor. I was afraid I wouldn’t be accepted because of what I had been through. I doubted I was worthy or qualified. I wondered if my divorce would make me appear as a negative role model that the staff wouldn’t want around their teenagers or own kids. Thankfully, I was graciously accepted and blessed with the opportunity to serve at Camp Northward’s high school week for the last two years. This year my church, Crossroads, started their own senior high camp and I had a familiar flutter of insecurity when…

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Big Brother, Don’t You See

Life Lessons, relationships

A few weeks ago, I sat watching my niece and nephew play together.  I smiled and felt a sting of pain simultaneously as I watched the way she looked at him.  She never left his side; she needed to be everywhere he was, doing everything he was doing, at every moment.  And to use an antiquated expression, you would think he hung the moon by the look in her eyes. “It starts that young”, I marveled aloud to my husband. At 20 months she already idolizes her almost 3 year old brother.  I wondered at what age he would become cognizant of it, and how he would take to that responsibility – knowing…

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Woman Camp

faith, freedom, Life Lessons, Spiritual Growth

Recently, my church held a camping weekend woman’s retreat, they called it “Woman Camp”. Ten years ago, if you had told me I would be signing up for a camping trip for 500 women only – voluntarily – I would have thought you were crazy. Sure I had attended plenty of women-only events… out of sheer obligation, but not excitedly. And I didn’t really feel like I fit in when I was there, I just didn’t relate. In case you don’t know me, I am exactly equal parts fashionista and tomboy; which means you’re just as likely to catch me barefoot as you are in AWESOME stilettos. My best friends had almost exclusively…

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God is in the Restoration Business

faith, grace, Life Lessons, Spiritual Growth

He breathes life into lifeless places. It doesn’t matter if it’s a relationship, your health, your emotions, your dreams…. He brings dry bones out of the grave and wraps them in flesh once more. He Restores the years you lost, the love you lost, the friends you lost, the faith you lost, the dreams you lost, the opportunities you lost.   Over and above what we can even think of or imagine. He makes all things new, again. If you let Him. If something in your life needs total restoration, read these promises below and be encouraged. He CAN do it. He HAS done it for others (including me). He WANTS to do it…

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Hosanna in the Highest

faith

I’ve been spending quite a bit of time over the last month thinking about the upcoming holiday. Easter Sunday. Resurrection Day. I wanted to spend time really meditating on it, about the significance of it, and not just let it pass me by like any other Sunday, any other weekend, any other holiday. Mostly, I’ve been thinking about the week leading up to that day – this week– what some people call Holy Week, and others have aptly named Passion Week. I’ve been trying to imagine what would have been going through Jesus’ mind each day leading up to his betrayal, trial, and execution. Today, the first day of Passion Week, is called…

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Speaking Life

marriage, relationships, Spiritual Growth

This week a professional friend/acquaintance told me “you have one of the happiest marriages I’ve ever seen on Facebook.” While I appreciate what he said, his comment in and of itself was a can of worms.  I mean, we are all guilty of using our Social Media pages to portray the “highlight reel” of our lives – I certainly wasn’t posting a status update about the little squabble Barry and I had thirty minutes after that compliment!!  But later that night I thought about what he said while I was taking a shower.  Then I looked up and a reminder of why this is was literally right in front of me. You want…

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And yet…..

faith, freedom, grace, Life Lessons, Spiritual Growth

My incredible friend Gaynelle helped me with a section in my book about combating the lies and falsehoods we hear in our own minds. She shared with me an incredible resource called, the “Complete Personalized Promise Bible for Women”. I snagged my own copy for my Kindle and am pretty much using it as my devotion this year. (It’s awesome) Each section/topic has scripture, then a faith confession, then a list of all the verses from where that faith confession came. I’m having so much fun studying God’s love letters to His children – to me – that substantiate many of the faith claims and confessions that I repeat to myself on the…

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Your Fickle Heart

marriage, relationships

If you spend your whole dating career making decisions based on “following your heart”, what are you going to do after you get married and you and your spouse go into a [temporary] funk (because it’s going to happen), and your “heart” tells you your in love with someone else? Are you still going to follow your heart then?  Does your heart supersede your vows?  Then why bother even making them? No. You’ve got to figure out how to base your decisions outside of something as fickle as your heart. And trust me, you want to figure this out before you get married.

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Ronnie & Nancy

marriage, second marriage

He was married for nearly a decade; they shared a common interest and career in filmmaking.  Their union produced a daughter by birth and a son by adoption, and the couple also lost a daughter.  She filed for the divorce – neither of them ever publicly commented on its causes or its reasons.  Instead, they remained amicable and cared capably for their two children.  Both continued to work in their chosen professions.  both continued to move in the same circle of friends, acquaintances, and co-workers. Three years after the divorce he found the courage to marry again. He had met Nancy on a blind date arranged by a mutual friend.  After two years…

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