I love photo apps that bring to our fingertips our wondrous world! Pristine blue waters, towering snow-covered mountains, bursts of sun breaking through mountain tops, or the glow reflected off a glassy lake at sunset. But why just look at photos when, instead, you could make a big splash with your family this summer by […]
Category: Family Life/Caregivers
Learning to Wait in the Waiting Room
There is a place I used to call my second home: the waiting room. I’ll never forget the hours I spent with my special-needs son in waiting rooms—rooms with tattered magazines, crying children, and tired-looking people who were staring at smudged, blandly painted walls. If there were windows, I watched the outside world whirl by—beautiful […]
Does Anyone See Me?
Jesus Understands
So, there we were—my mother, my sister, my three children, and I—walking through the airport to get to the gate for our flight home. There should be awards for mothers who travel with teenagers—the heaps of luggage . . . The stops for sodas and snacks . . . the children deaf to anything other […]
Beauty Unimagined: Mending and Marriage
I nearly incinerated my finger with a hot glue gun a while back. I was working on a project for my daughter’s wedding and almost welded my finger to the table. While I soaked one hand in ice, with the other I dusted off the pages of her baby books and began thumbing through them. […]
Nineteen (and a Half) Reasons Why Being Broken Is Beautiful
He clung to his phone like a threadbare lifeline. Hearing his laugh is a symphony of joy . . . it’s not the norm for him in life. My son Jon is now 19 and a HALF—that half is desperately important to him. For his whole life, he’s been in pain: Physically Emotionally Relationally Spiritually […]
Seven Dwarfs That Reflect Real Life
Not long ago I saw a colorful, captivating picture on a doctor’s office wall. It was clearly a parody of Disney’s movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Remember those jolly little round, robust fellows who whistled, worked, and walked home singing catchy tunes? Good ol’ Doc . . . Grumpy Happy Sleepy Bashful Sneezy […]
Resolutions: The Why Behind What You’re Doing
The success rate of people keeping resolutions is around 8 percent (tops). Resolutions fell off my to-do list years ago. However, I’ve heard that more than 50 percent of Americans still firmly believe in making resolutions. And let’s just say old habits are hard to break; the ritual of making resolutions began long before Christ […]
How to Beat the Burn-Out
TIRED! That was the only word I could think of. Typically, my husband—who leaves for work by 5:20 a.m.—sends me a text asking how the morning routine and getting out the door went. For us, that can be a risky inquiry since, quite often, departing for the day is something just shy of the Exodus. […]
Cutting Out the Christmas Conflict
I don’t think there is any other time of the year when we are faced with intense conflict than at Christmas time. While we sing about it being the most wonderful time of the year, would you say that’s your experience? If it really is the happiest season of all, why do the mental health statistics […]
A Great Panic Attack Can Change Everything
After my first marriage fell apart, I vowed that Christ would return before I would ever consider getting married again. Why on earth would one desire a messier life than I had created by age 40 . . . HONESTLY! Meeting people—well, okay . . . men—occasionally wasn’t problematic. People fascinate me, and I enjoyed […]
Double-Dare: “What Would Happen If I . . . ?”
We all have wondered, What would happen if I dreamt up ideas filled with spontaneity, the unknown, a bit of risk, a thrill—and actually pursued that dream? How many of us let loose long enough to find out what would happen?
Trash or Treasure
It’s Time to Tackle the Truth
The weathered wooden trellises were trashed . . . or so they thought. I found some timeworn trellises stacked in a pile my folks planned to toss out. I have a thing about refurbishing or renewing stuff that appears dumpy or dilapidated, and giving it new life. If it’s family stuff, all the better. Around […]