About this time every summer, my children are tired of hanging out with each other, fighting and calling names, and I have had it about up to here!  No matter how many times we talk about treating each other with kindness and love, daily there are angry words that are yelled, hurtful comments made and tears that are shed.  I just can’t…

Discipleship is such a big word that we use all of the time in our Christian walk, but what does it really mean?  What does it really mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ?  I grew up in the church, and so the amount of times I have heard the word “disciple” or “discipleship” are too many to count, and it…

May is one of the craziest months in my life.  With all of the end-of-the-year celebrations, the graduations, getting my yard ready, preparing for summer, etc etc, life just seems to take on a life of it’s own.  It seems like I am constantly running from one thing to another.  Often it is during the craziest of times in my life that…

The other day, I was feeling inspired as a parent and I decided to purposely speak truth and life into my children’s lives (don’t worry other parents who are struggling, these moments don’t happen often, I struggle just like you).  I called each of my boys over and spoke to them individually, specifically telling them things that I was proud of.  “I…

Have you ever been in a place where you just have no words?  There have been many times throughout my life where I have found myself in that exact spot (I know, that can be shocking to some!).  And as I journey through the Lent season and come upon the Passion Week and all that leads up to Easter, I often find…

A new year, 2016, a time for new beginnings.  A time to let go of all of those things that have held us back or have made us not be able to live up to our full potential.  A time to start a fresh and take up good habits, leaving the bad in the past.  I have to admit that I am…

As we enter into this season of Advent and Christmas, I am always amazed at all of the advertisements that are thrown my way.  My kids pick them up, wide-eyed, and think that they have to have it all!  They have to have all of the toys, all of the games, all of the electronics, all of the… well, you get the…

Have you ever found yourself in a King Soopers or Walmart or Safeway looking for a bag of chips and just thought, “how can I even choose when there are so many choices?”  That happens to me almost every time I find myself in the store.  In our society, we are blessed to have abundant choices.  You need cereal?  Well would you…

I love new beginnings, and it seems that fall is full of them.  Today my boys started school.  Matthew started 3rd grade and Jackson started Kindergarten.  While other moms in Jackson’s class were having a hard time dealing with their kindergartener going to school for the first time, I was so happy for him.  He is going to have so many amazing moments, meet so many…

I love to go on hikes with my family. What I have learned is that there are several things that you need to make sure you have with you on your journey.  The most important of these items is a map of where you are going. But here is the thing about hiking: even with the greatest preparation, sometimes the path can be…

Right now, we are all in the midst of preparing for summer.  A few weeks from now, our swimming pools will open and we will take a deep breath as school wraps up for the school year.   We will attend BBQ after BBQ, lather on tons of sunscreen, and schedule fun vacations and camping trips.  And maybe somewhere in the midst of all of that…

For the last few weeks, you have heard that I am answering a new calling in my life.  I have worked in the church for almost 12 years, and have found God working in my life through many wonderful and many hard situations.  Not only have I worked with children and youth through those years, I also have led many worship services, preached many…

A week ago, I was called into the Tiger class in our preschool. This class of young 3-year-olds wanted to share with me about their generous giving that they had been practicing.  Through my time in their class, I learned that they had been learning about how to help those who are less fortunate than they are and earning money to give to…

Years ago, we were talking about Lent around our dinner table.  We were sharing things that we were going to give up until Easter.  My son, Matthew decided to give up ketchup.  Now ketchup was a huge staple in his diet, and so I asked him over and over again if he really wanted to do that because it would be very difficult.  But after a…