Finishing a run along the Florida shores still bearing the scars of Hurricane Ida, I was taken aback by the beauty and serenity of the ocean, that just 24 hours ago, raged with towering, angry waves. With one rise and set of the moon, the fury of a storm that destroyed lives less than 200 miles away was replaced with serenity and stillness. The difference was striking. Like sheets of glass, the light from the bright shallow sun pierced the flat placid water making it possible to see straight to

On a clear, spring day, I pulled up to a stoplight to visit my dad in the hospital for reasons related to his recent cancer diagnosis. Sitting at the red light, these pink and blue pom poms and balloons hanging from a tailgate tent in the hospital parking lot caught my attention as they swayed in the wind. As people gathered in their lawn chairs beneath the tent, I couldn’t help but notice how their joy and laughter spilled over into the street. Clearly awaiting the arrival of a new baby, the re

Lately, I have walked into many conversations with friends who have been thrust into the role of caregiver for their aging parents. Much like Hobby Lobby in October, you wander the aisles surrounded by Christmas, Christmas tinsel and Christmas trees. It’s not what you’re looking for; it’s not what you want, and you even find yourself frustrated at the corporate powers that be for pushing this season on you before you are ready. In an act of defiance, you pass the aisles filled with green garlan

In a time usually filled with new resolutions and words for the year, is it just me, or has the 2020 PTSD caused you to take pause about penning those new years goals? I currently wade between hopeful expectancy of a fresh start, and pessimistic apathy because the world has gone crazy so who has time for goals right now? I clearly remember my personal and ministry goals from last year. They were by far the clearest, most specific, most strategic that I have ever written. I was certain that thes

I’m not sure what wise woman came up with this but I know first hand that the narrative of a mother’s day can be determined by the number of times she has to warm up her coffee. Generally, I find my days fall into two categories. There is the type of day that requires only one reheat and on a really good day I may even get to finish an entire cup! On this type of day, my little angel children make good choices, they play well together, and we make it through the morning scramble with zero tears

Ever since the dawn of a new decade where the most “normal” thing I have experienced so far is Mardi Gras, this question has become quite a loaded ask. Well, by one measure I could answer with a “fine.” This casual response probably comes as a relief to my friendly inquirer that I didn’t unpack any issues, anxieties and emotions that bubble just below the surface. On some level I am fine. My family and I are healthy, we both have our jobs, our kids aren’t showing any signs of major trauma. B

To paraphrase comedian Jim Gaffigan when asked about raising children, in his case five, he says, "If you want to know what parenting is like, imagine you are drowning and someone hands you a baby.” You are trying to stay afloat and keep your head above the tide of life’s demands all the while trying to sustain and support a little one who comes with less instructions than a blender. Parenting is hard on so many levels. What I have found is that the most difficulty is found when my hurried, se

“Be still and know that I am God.” Be still. Seems more like a laughable ideal rather than a holy command seeing that mothering is a call to movement. Never sitting, always doing and somewhere in the scramble we are all just trying to enjoy a hot cup of coffee that hasn’t been warmed up three times. Be still. God’s simplest but seemingly hardest command whose very root means “to sink, relax, or let go.” In the brief pauses of my day, I feel my soul longing for it; stillness. Be still. What