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Fine China Reflections
When I was creating my wedding registry, people kept asking me if I’d picked out a set of china. As someone who often enjoyed my Thanksgiving meal on paper plates for easy cleanup, this concept was foreign to me. Why would I have china on my registry? Wasn’t that just for taking up space and…
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Choosing the Narrow Road
Being an introverted mom is a challenge. There’s always someone needing me, pulling me away, vying for my attention. I can get sucked into the cycle of unproductivity because I keep getting disrupted when I try to focus on something. And as I mentioned in a previous post, it’s already hard enough to focus on…
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When the Ordinary Comes Knocking
I’ve been re-reading The Screwtape Letters, and I’m once again struck by Lewis’ insight into the human condition. In one of the early letters, the demon Screwtape encourages his nephew on the effectiveness of the ordinary to draw people away from God. The ordinary has certainly been persistent in knocking at my door lately. Over…
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Disciplining the Heart
Going grocery shopping is a big event now. Not that it’s one I want tickets to, but somehow I always land the VIP seating. And since I usually have a toddler in tow, I’ve gotten pretty good at saying no. We’ll pass by the candy, the seasonal items, the sugar cereal, or the fun trinkets…
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Leveled Up Priorities
I’m pretty bad at video games, even though there are a handful I like to play. Among my chosen few are Minecraft, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Pokemon, and all the Lego games (especially Lego Star Wars). All of them have some level of exploration, which is why these are among my favorites.…
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Disrupting the Status Quo
There’s a fairy tale I often think about that involves a farmer with lots of children. He complains about how little space he has and dreams of the day he can buy a big farmhouse to fit everyone. A wise old woman tells him how he can fix his problem–bring all the chickens inside the…
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Holistic Housekeeping
My mom recently invested in chickens. It sounds like no big deal, until you realize just how much work goes into their startup and upkeep. From planning and building the enclosure (in the middle of an Arizona summer) to researching the best kind of feed for the budget to the physical labor of cleaning the…
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Trash and Treasure
I’m not a great housekeeper. This whole staying home thing is still new to me, even though I’ve been at it for a couple years. And although I appreciate learning how to care for my home and family, there are many times I wish I already had all the tricks of the trade. I wish…
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Wired for Worship
Whenever I hear something multiple times, I know it’s God trying to get my attention. And even though I had a whole other post prepared for today, this is the one that keeps rearing its head. I’ve been reflecting on instilling a heart of worship into my children. Then the Sunday sermon was all about…
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Cultivating a Life of Purpose
I’ve never been good with plants. I’m one of those unfortunate people who dreams of the luscious garden I would create with my own two hands, but I’m left staring at the withered remains of many failed attempts to keep things alive. My biggest accomplishment to date is a houseplant that somehow managed to survive…