Faith, Family, and the beauty of Everyday Grace
welcome to the blog
You
We’re looking for love
We’re looking for connection
We’re looking for acceptance and approval
We’re looking to hang on
We never want to let go
words that make a marriage
I hold my husband's hand and remember that our lives, and those of our kids and grandkids, began because of God’s love for humanity and, specifically, for the passion and adoration He’s given us for Him and for each other.
Strong marriages make strong families which, in turn, make strong societies.
What Good Is It?
Can I be honest?
I’ve been pretty discouraged lately.
Or, more specifically, discouraged with how technology has changed us.
Yesterday, I was in a waiting room and it hit me like it does every time—we don’t talk to each other anymore.
the heart remembers
Words don’t suffice.
There aren’t enough that can express.
A and E, let my heart talk to yours.
You are so adored by your hard-working and fun-loving parents, grandparents, aunties, and uncles: Life will be a great adventure.
Dear Younger Me
May 14, 1985
Dad died in the hospital today. Why, why, why, why, why? Why wasn't I taken instead? Mom, Karen, and the boys could live fine without me. How will any of us survive without Dad?
June 9, 2023
Dear Younger Me,
These are such good questions.
true gold
They know all your secrets.
They can name your old elementary and high school crushes, your most embarrassing moments, and your biggest regrets.
They know the one you love and the ones that got away.
all of God's grace in one tiny face
After I repeated the expression, you told me it brought you to tears.
“All of God’s grace in one tiny face.”
We'd talked on the phone for an hour that afternoon—me swatting bees on the deck of our rental house in Indiana and you back home in Illinois in your comfortable recliner, looking at birds out the window.
the fragrance of life
I’ve kept the gift for over twenty-nine years.
When I take off the top and inhale, I’m right back in that significant time—the beginning years of marriage and living in our very own little home, expecting a baby. My sister-in-law, Jan, gave me the Elizabeth Arden body lotion for my birthday, two months before our firstborn's entrance into the world.
last drops
My husband was out of the country on a work trip.
While caring for our two boys, I often counted the seconds until his return.
The first days of his absence had been rough, but this one started and ended, almost, uneventfully.
an audience of one
I’d take physical exhaustion over mental exhaustion any day of the week.
And that’s what social media produces in me—a mental and emotional burnout.
So I took the plunge and removed myself.
Marriage Looks Like This
Marriage looks like a desperately needed, intertwined nap on a lazy, rainy afternoon and later chopping vegetables, side by side, for a favorite Sunday soup recipe.
grace abounds
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.”
It took us time to get this right.
I wish I could go back to our early days of marriage, knowing all that we know now.
forces of love
We've been desensitized to reports of innocent people being shot.
We hear a new story every night. It has become our status quo.
But most anyone with a beating heart can express that it feels so far gone, we wonder if our course can be changed.
let mercy draw you near
In this Lenten season, we can be reminded—if we take the time and look—that God‘s goodness is everywhere.
We can focus on the direness, or we can remember that Jesus came to defeat it all.
power of life and death
Words matter.
Proverbs 18:21 says, “The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.”
It’s worth reminding ourselves over and again: What we say can bring life or can bring death.
be a light
“I can’t smell my coffee” was followed later in the day by “This ketchup tastes awful!”
No, please let it not be so!
humble and kind
“I love you, Mom.”
“Hmmm?”
(A little louder) “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too ... so very much.”
I’d been deep in thought, listening to the song we were slowly dancing to.
may his face shine upon you
Numbers 6 : 24 - 26 ESV The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Dear moms and dads,
This blessing was first spoken from God to Moses. The Lord told Moses to tell his brother, the priest Aaron, and Aaron’s sons, to bless the people of Israel with the words above.
we've gotcha
The stout and stern, dark-haired judge scared the living heck out of us.
She fired one question after another, and the sweat beaded on Craig's head. The kind translator had warned us ahead of time not to look at herself but only at the judge when it was time for the translator to repeat the judge's questions, changing them from Russian to English.
"Why do you want to adopt this little girl?"
ineffable
When I heard his feet hit the floor and his bedroom door open, I knew I didn’t have time to move or hide. I was caught.
"Hey!" he said. "What are you doing?"
"I'm just looking for something I dropped earlier," I whispered (and lied).