This year has been a year of paring down for me. In the spring I challenged myself with a project called 333. I hid or gave away all but 33 items of clothing for 30 days. I can’t explain the freedom I felt with fewer choices for daily attire. And packing? I could fit my…
I can still remember the way the house smelled like freshly brewed coffee. Every morning I found my father sitting in the Victorian Style floral chair reading his Bible. He always seemed to be sitting with one leg crossed over the other the Bible in his lap, and his coffee on the end table. I…
A relationship can be difficult enough to navigate when both people are healthy but what do you do when a chronic illness is in the mix? Illness can bring depression, frustration and isolation, taxing a relationship. But I have discovered that there can also be much joy and solidarity with your spouse even in the midst of trying circumstances. In…
There comes a point in a serious relationship when a decision is made about the couple’s future. Marriage and kids may be discussed, ring sizes can be exchanged, and sometimes a couple browses a jewelry store or two. Sometime shorty after that conversation happens, it appears that everyone else in the world somehow senses the…
I recently came across the Bible I used from 1996-2006. Inside the front cover, I had written out a sermon outline on servanthood preached at some point during that decade. As I read through my pastor’s points again, all of these years later, they both convicted and encouraged me greatly. Working in ministry can be…
