Colossal Walls We Must Conquer with Uncompromising Courage
We were going 80 miles an hour when I hit the wall. That collision shattered the left side of my face. Four surgeries and four months later, getting behind the wheel had a whole new meaning. When we think of walls, most of us think of The Great Wall of China or walled cities of […]
The Ultimate Game of Thrones
Epic. Unforgettable. Remarkable. It’s a writer’s dream to craft work so powerful it moves the human spirit. In the world of fiction and fantasy, George R. R. Martin has done that with his novel series, originally titled A Song of Ice and Fire. Producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss created from Martin’s work the […]
Where to Find Comfort When Disaster Strikes
Harvey. It hasn’t been a common name during my lifetime. Until now. Most of the country will remember the name Harvey and will relate it to one of our nation’s largest natural disasters. News outlets and social media run loops of countless scenes of devastation and loss. Homes filled with wonderful memories have been ripped […]
What to Remember When Your “Not-Best” Self Shows Up
I am not my best self in the morning. Sadly, this “not-best” version of myself must still carpool during morning rush hour traffic—a setup for the perfect storm. I lugged my “not-best” self into the car and noticed my son Jon’s anxiety was high. Anxiety is one of his most difficult challenges. He is rarely […]
Change: The Road to Healing with Hope
Today I chose to take another route home after taking my son to school. Typically, I race straight home or to the office, directly to my desk and dive in to work. Today was different. I needed space—which is getting harder to come by in our town. I realized this as I navigated my way […]
From Survival to Spectacular—Your Story Isn’t Finished
Based on the unpredictable and seemingly impossible commands the Lord has given His people, I don’t think He would have won any ancient popularity contests. The first book of our Bible, Genesis, contains accounts that, if we didn’t have the whole story, could make God seem more like a sinister bully than a sovereign Savior. […]
Relational Guts: Plunging into Life and Love with Courage
The text read . . . “Hey, please give me a call back when you can. Love you!” My daughter isn’t a big texter. Something was up. I called immediately. Her voice sounded fragile—not the typical healthy, “busy-about-life” one I’m used to. I listened as she began with a truth I’ve taught my kids over the years: […]
How to Solve Sleepless Nights and Unexpected Sorrows
So what’s been keeping you up at night? Sleepless nights . . . we’ve all been there: lying awake for hours, tossing and turning, tangled in our sheets as our thoughts and emotions twist up into tight knots. We try to self-medicate, but . . . Drinking Eating Smoking Whatever-ing Doesn’t keep us from restless […]
Meaningful Memorials
[guestpost]Excerpted from Charles R. Swindoll, Wisdom for the Way (Nashville: J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2001). Copyright © 2001 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.[/guestpost] The Lincoln Memorial. The Vietnam Memorial . . . Memorials are places provided for us to stand and be quiet, to reflect, […]
The Big Reframe: How to Replace Suffering with Abounding Hope
I confess: the Bible used to sometimes bore me or make no sense or seem antiquated. I secretly thought the Bible couldn’t address the problems I was facing. Until . . . I took a class called Hermeneutics (her-meh-new-tiks) at Dallas Theological Seminary. The class taught us a few key principles for reading Scripture. When […]
Spicing Up Your Summer: Fabulous Family Vacations
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 […]
A Checklist for Living Well
There’s a great NPR podcast titled How I Built This. I love it! It’s about people who have created, invented, or started movements that have become highly successful. I’ve listened to interviews with the founders of Whole Foods, Spanx (Every woman say AMEN!), Lyft, Crate and Barrel, and Kate Spade, to name a few. Every […]