I gripped a branch like a baseball bat and stared at the tree trunk to my right. It was a thin, yet tall, tree growing along my favorite hidden hiking trail. Before logic talked me out of it, I swung and then swung again. Small pieces of bark fell to the ground and my hands […]
Read MoreThe overhead “ding” signaled it was time. Our plane was about to take off for Guatemala. Although I’d prepared for the trip for several months, a sudden anxiety hit me. About to leave the safety of my country, unfavorable news headlines and “what if” scenarios flashed before me. I was soon entertaining rapid thoughts and […]
Read MoreI hated to face the truth about what I’d done. After I preached to my daughter about the importance of a healthy diet and offered her only eggs, yogurt or oatmeal for breakfast, I turned around and dunked a few Oreos into my coffee once she walked out the door to the bus stop. I […]
Read MoreSeveral years ago, before our loft was littered with Barbie houses and LOL dolls, Mike and I decided to paint its dark, aqua-green walls. But, shortly after agreeing to paint the room, we ran into a snag: I envisioned deep, bold red walls and he wanted light blue. Standing on nearly opposite sides of the […]
Read MoreMy stomach let out another loud, embarrassing growl. “How did Jesus do this for 40 days?” I wondered to myself. I hadn’t eaten in over 12 hours, and the pains of hunger due to fasting were starting to set in. Some were more audible than others. In the midst of my discomfort, I allowed myself […]
Read More“I think you’re racist….” I was taken aback at the stranger’s message in Facebook Marketplace. A potential buyer made an assumption about me based on my profile photo. Truly, someone else had requested the free items I listed in the Marketplace first. My response back to him, “I’m sorry, the items are unavailable” had nothing […]
Read MoreYou know the neighbor who won’t mow their yard – or the one who lets their dog poop in yours? It’s OK to love them. (Even if the other neighbors gripe.) You know the people who smoke, drink and curse just a little too much? Yep, it’s OK to love them too. How about the […]
Read MoreOne day, it hit me. I was living most of my life looking at or through a box. Not literally, of course. But my eyes and ears were mostly focused on messages with four lines surrounding them. Sometimes, it was the TV box. Other times, the boxes were of computer screens, calendar dates or pages […]
Read MoreWe couldn’t afford it. His middle school math teacher salary and the income I brought in from my small freelance communications business paid our bills, but it didn’t leave us much wiggle room for much of anything else – especially an adoption. “When you accept the call to adopt, God will provide… trust us.” Our […]
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