About a week ago I was walking down the stairs to my basement and I said, “Jesus, thank you that I am so full of peace right now.”
I wasn’t doing any sort of self examination or anything. The thought just came to my mind, so I said it out loud.
After I said it, I started doing some reflection. Continue reading “His Peace Wins”
Dear Childless Mama,
You know who you are. Whether you are like me and your child was taken from your arms by that nasty thing called death or miscarriage robbed you of that baby in your arms, or that adoption you so eagerly awaited fell through, or infertility has, it seems, built walls around you, so you can’t conceive, or you are still single and wondering if you’ll ever get to build a family with someone – you know who you are, and when I say, “Dear Childless Mama,” you know I’m talking to you. Even if you’ll only call yourself a mom in the depths of your being because the world might not recognize it in you. You know. So hear my words: Continue reading “Dear Childless Mama”
I listened to Oceans for the first time in a while a couple days ago. Every time I hear it I think back to when it first came out towards the end of 2013. I loved it immediately. The bridge goes like this: Continue reading “Oceans”
Jamin and I have been reading one chapter in the Bible, discussing it, and praying over a list of what started out as eleven items and has turned into something a bit larger every day for almost 3 months. It has been so good for us. For a long time, we weren’t good at consistently praying and reading together, and I think it is so important in keeping God the center of a marriage.
We’ve been in Jeremiah for about a month now, and recently came across a verse that anyone who grew up in the church has probably heard. It’s the go-to verse to write on high school graduation cards. Continue reading “For He Know the Plans”
Last week, Jamin and I helped lead a high school mission trip to New Orleans. We got back last night around 7:30pm, and we have used today to rest and regain some energy. The trip wiped us out, but it was amazing.
About a month before the trip, we were asked if we could go along because they needed two more leaders. The students were from a Lutheran church in our town. We aren’t Lutheran, but I love having opportunities to work with other denominations and be unified with the body of Christ! Continue reading “New Orleans Part 1: St. Louis”
Gosh, it is so hard to wrap my head around this day, and I’m sure it will be just as hard in 15 years and in 40 years.
Today, Leeland would have been 3 years old. I still remember a lot from that day. I remember 3 years ago, close to this time, we were returning home from the University of Iowa Hospital with one less person than we had left with. Continue reading “He is Still Good Three Years Later”
A few nights ago my husband and I changed our routine a bit.
We normally pray together a few times a week, not counting quick prayers in the morning or at night, and our Bible reading is usually done independently.
We are reading through the book of Isaiah together and praying together every day. We made a list of 11 things that we are going to pray for every day. We want to make this a regular thing each day. Continue reading “Pray Without Ceasing”
Millions of people celebrated the coming of a candy bearing rabbit yesterday. I hope that many more millions were celebrating something much bigger – the resurrection of Jesus from the grave.
In the days leading up to Sunday, lots of people talked about Jesus. They talked about why Jesus would do what He did and what it means for us. They talked about how He was welcomed upon entering Jerusalem and how the same people that welcomed Him were in the crowd yelling, “crucify him,” only days later. On Friday, people talked about the punishment Jesus would receive on our behalf and what was supposed to be His final breath. Continue reading “He Is Still Risen”
“Bold prayers honor God, and God honors bold prayers.” – The Circle Maker
We’ve hosted a small group at our house almost every Wednesday for over a year, and I love it. We have become a family. I love that everyone feels comfortable showing up any time and walking right in. I love that we can be authentic, provide support when things are hard, and celebrate together when things are good.
We decided about a month ago to do a prayer experiment. My husband had just finished reading The Circle Maker (I just started reading it) and proposed that everyone pick something to fast from and one thing that they wanted prayer for. We all then committed to pray for everyone’s one thing every day. Within the first week, one of prayer requests was resolved. There have been a few more since then.
I’ve always known that prayer is powerful, but it has been really cool to have 12 people praying for all of the same things together and to see results.
Sometimes it’s hard for me to believe this has really been my life – that I’ve actually gone through all of these experiences. Twenty-six years isn’t much, but those years have been filled with a lot of life.
Here I am, coming to the end of the first period I’ve had in 3 years. It’s so strange.
At the beginning of the week, I told many of my friends about it, and they all responded with excitement. They know what our story has been. They know the grief and the heartache we’ve endured, so they know what this means for us. This means opportunity for us that we thought was gone, so they were all excited. Continue reading “Celebrating This Weird Thing”
