During the month of June I have been reading through the book of Proverbs and recently came upon this verse, "the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer" (Proverbs 30:25). These little industrious insects aren't strong but they...
Flying the friendly skies with all our children is a humorous experience. Picture this: four kids all pulling suitcases and one of my daughters balancing her car seat on her head. We held my 21 month old boy by a leash on his backpack without...
Nearly four years ago, in the midst of a very dark season, I threw open my Bible at the beginning, exclaiming angrily, “I’m going to know you, God, whether you like it or not.” I didn’t know it at the time, but my misguided anger would...
It was a Thursday when Grandma died. I awoke to my husband's kind hand touching me in the darkness. "Laura, your Grandma is in Heaven," he said. We were to fly to Georgia on Friday to get one last visit with her and say our...
A few years ago I went through a difficult season where I felt really lost and couldn’t seem to find any breakthrough. There were a number of things I did during that time… Sought counseling, read books, prayed, exercised, ate right, reached out to friends, etc, etc, etc. We've all been there,...
I’ve been through a lot of heartbreak in my life. In addition to the real, lasting losses in my life—the death of my father and my mother’s mental illness—there are scores of disappointments. Awards not won, books not published, stories rejected, and opportunities on which...
Once upon a time in this country, we did things like eat meals, visit with friends, go on walks, visit museums, and spend time with family without taking selfies of the whole experience and sharing it with 1,000 other people. I remember having a rotary phone...
About 8 years ago I watched Food. Inc and began a journey to change our diet habits feeding our family healthier, more nutritious food. We’ve tried different types of diets and at times I’ve been stricter...
A few weeks ago, the word “righteousness” kept popping up in my quiet times. It’s a word used frequently in Scripture (213 times!), but I kept looking at it thinking, “Righteousness … what does God really mean when he says, ”He will judge the world...
I looked down at my dad's response. Right next to it was a heart symbol. In the midst of many things for which I am thankful, my dad and I have had our share of relational struggles. Hurt, disappointment, miscommunication, and anger. Over the years, intertwined with blessings...