Over the past year, our family has collected two years of empty jars in our pantry. Blame it on our love of salsa, peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, and pickles. Blame it on our German heritage and absolute inability to throw away something we could use again. Blame it on the kids’ new understanding of Reduce,...Continue Reading
Did you hear that? It’s the Advent starting gun fired this morning. One month until Christmas! And, oh my, we all have such long lists of shopping and baking and elfing. The next month will be exciting and overwhelming. And, yet, we know the truth about what’s really important during this season. We now our most important task...Continue Reading
Wow. What a week. Are you feeling a little bruised, a little strung-out from social media? Here’s the best news in the world…God loves you more than you can imagine. You already have everything you need: your identity, your hope, your true security, and real peace. God’s love is the message of Love Rules, and it’s the...Continue Reading
Dear Elisabeth….. Welcome to Third Grade, sweetheart. Lately, you seem more like 39 than 9. Every morning, when you walk down the stairs (with your hair combed, your shoes tied, and your game face on), it’s like you’re a middle-aged woman off to her demanding job. But then …you tell me about your dreams (or nightmares)...Continue Reading
This week I talked to elementary school kids about my job as an author. They were sweet and silly and asked great questions (“How much money did you make last year?”) After my talk, a few Fifth Graders lingered to tell me about the books they wanted to write. As one girl stared at her Converse,...Continue Reading
Dear Catie (on your first day of middle school)… Suddenly, here you are, at the tipping point between childhood and adolescence, right at the center of growing up. The teenager-you is slowly emerging. You’re suddenly taller than some grown-ups, your wide brown eyes are pretty, in the way that will never need mascara. You can cook dinner, beat Daddy and me at trivia, and understand...Continue Reading
Our kids are back from a week of camp. Right before it was time to send them, I almost chickened out. But I kept thinking of this bit of wisdom,”Parenting is about preparing your child for the road, not about preparing the road for your child.” I’m good at road construction for my kids. I always believe they need...Continue Reading
Thanks to the constant rain this month, Texas is flooded. The bayous are swollen, the streets are impassable, and yards are like swimming pools. This kind of weather is so fitting for May, a month also flooded with commitments, parties, emotions, and stimulants. We introverts can handle the a light, steady rain of stimuli. We can smile...Continue Reading
The weather is warmer here, and the sunshine seems to have robbed our kids of their hearing ability. Yesterday I asked Catie to put her shoes away about 17 times. I’m not normally a yeller, but I’m starting to see the gratification. MAYBE YOU CAN HEAR THIS?! I’m sure the kids’ teachers are also struggling with the...Continue Reading
As a kid, I read more than I did just about anything else. Piles of my books were scattered everywhere in the house. Books stuffed in my desk drawers, in the bathroom, on our back porch, and in the backseat of our family van. I learned everything from those stories. I read about broken families, kids...Continue Reading
