When Weekends Are Great and Mondays Start Hard

{For all my email subscribers who received a blank email ... I am so sorry.} This weekend we had company. We laughed and reminisced, ate and laughed some more. It was great. Friday night, we celebrated Scott's grandmother's 88th birthday. Four generations gathered around the table was pretty special. Watching the kids sing "Happy Birthday" for their great-grandmother was so sweet. It was great. Saturday morning, we went to our nephew's basketball game ... 6 and 7 year olds playing rec ball. The ... [Read More]

11:44 pm on January 15, 2013 {the beautiful ordinary}

It's quiet here ... and this makes two nights in a row I've been up long after I normally am sound asleep.  Just like last night I watched The West Wing on Netflix thinking the familiar dialog would lull my filled-up-mind into slumber. Instead, I watched President Bartlett prepare to give the State of the Union address.  {Side note:  He is my favorite fiction president.  In case there is ever a Teri Lynne Underwood category on Jeopardy!} As the closing credits scrolled ... [Read More]

Realizing the Dream a God-sized Dreams post

Last week Holley challenged us with these words: Do one thing to move forward in your God-sized dream. You get extra credit if it’s simple, small and takes just a few minutes. One thing.  Seemed sort of challenging for a girl who isn't really sure what her God-sized dream is.  But I went back to the notes I made in my notebook back on day 1 of The "Do What You Can" Plan. We were challenged first to identify what we want and then to set a minimum goal.  After we'd set our minimum goal, ... [Read More]

National Human Trafficking Awareness Day 2013: Take Action

In the midst of all the talk of dreams and listening and stillness, it can be easy for me to get caught up in my own pursuits, my own goals and desires, my own life and fail to remember the very real tragedies and heartache facing people all around me.   One of the most challenging aspects of discipleship for me is finding that balance between growing deep and living wide.   I want my foundation in the Word and in relationship with the Lord to be deep.  But I want to live wide and spread out for ... [Read More]

The Practice of Stillness

Usually, when the distractions of daily life deplete our energy, the first thing we eliminate is the thing we need the most: quiet, reflective time. Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy Is your world noisy?  Between the people, the gadgets, and the never-ending cacophony of social media and 24-hour news, the quest for quiet in the modern mom's life can seem more difficult than solving the national debt crisis.   And while we may recognize our need for other disciplines, like study or ... [Read More]

Listening for the DreamA God-Size Dream Post

A friend once called me an idea slinger.  I like that.  I love to play with what could be . . . to imagine all the possibilities . . .  to explore new opportunities. I love ideas and dreams. Unfortunately, I far too often find myself stymied by fear and doubt and never push through the idea slinging into the actual idea living. Enter my friend Holley.  {Do you know her?  She's the best kind of friend—encouraging, genuine, and a great question asker.}  She sweetly invited me to be a part of ... [Read More]