My first day of school as a mom

August 21, 2016 | Danielle | Parenting | 2

 Chimes from my smart phone’s alarm broke the silence at 6:30 a.m. The long-awaited morning arrived:  the first day of school. Five years prior time felt like a marathon. A judge made a nine-month-old baby girl “officially” ours after six long months of post-placement adoption visits. But on this day, time felt like a sprint. That […]

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Facing my fear of birds

July 30, 2016 | Danielle | Faith | 2

I freely walked into a bird cage at the zoo today and faced my fear of birds phobia. With my body shaking, I stretched out my arm and let a lorikeet perch on my finger and drink nectar from a small cup in my hand. At one point, two birds rested on me. But one […]

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Cancer and marriage breakdown

July 25, 2016 | Danielle | Family | 0

God gave me Mike as a freshman in high school. We never imagined we’d face a cancer and marriage breakdown years later. We met through our friend Erin. We became best friends first. I didn’t “like like” him until a few years later. I was 16 going on 17. We eased into dating just a […]

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Today I went to a black church.

July 17, 2016 | Danielle | Faith | 16

Today I went to a black church. No, I didn’t have an agenda. It wasn’t for work. There wasn’t a rally to attend or any special invitation (other than the one from my friend Rene who’d been praying for the African American community and felt told to go). I went to listen and pray alongside […]

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The Red Shorts

June 30, 2016 | Danielle | Cancer Survivorship | 3

In reality it was only a few seconds. But it felt like several minutes, if not hours. I stood there helpless in an outlet store staring at a selection of red summer shorts. Usually a “summer sale” would have helped me feel better about making a purchase. No luck this time. “Just pick up two […]

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How to Trust God When My Friends Are Dying

February 23, 2016 | Danielle | Faith | 0

“How could you…? Why didn’t you…? “Where were you…?” I struggled to find the strength to complete my prayerful sentences. I didn’t want to pray my honest prayers. And it wasn’t because I was scared to hurt God’s feelings; I’d moved past that months ago. The memories of dearly loved friends who went all too […]

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