At six years old, sitting on the couch between my dad and sister, across from my mom who was expecting a baby, I read aloud a letter Dad had written explaining to us that we would be going to a new church where he would be the youth pastor. It was a small church perched…
After a while, Tolkien is satisfied he has judged the exam paper fairly and places it on the right-hand pile before plucking another from the pile to his left. For a further few minutes he reads the opening pages of this new paper and then, turning the page, he is surprised to see before him…
"If this is how my story is going to go, so be it." I wrote that in my journal about two weeks ago, and I've both said it aloud and thought it to myself many times since. Sometimes I have a resentful tone, sometimes simple resignation, sometimes restful. I don't know really know what I'm…
"You must understand that our civilization is so vast that we can't have our minorities upset and stirred. Ask yourself, What do we want in this country, above all? People want to be happy, isn't that right? Haven't you heard it all your life? I want to be happy, people say. Well, aren't they? Don't…
Wow guys, I started and finished this book within 24 hours. No joke. I think this happened for a couple reasons. Allow me to share them with you. First of all, and this is the same reason I chose to read this book when I did, I have been so hungry for fiction! I had…
Even though He Himself was God incarnate, He thought it necessary to withdraw to a mountain to pray all night . . . If He, why not us?pg 82 What Happens When Women Pray by Evelyn Christenson is an older book, originally published in 1975. But the principles and truths contained within this book are…
That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. psalm 104:28 April is over. Truthfully one of the oddest months I've ever experienced. April 2020 is a month I'm sure I'll tell my babies about someday. Why? Because April was our first complete month of shelter-in-place. (Hopefully the last full…
Audiobook number two is complete! I enjoyed this one as an audiobook more than I enjoyed Real Food for Pregnancy as an audiobook. (That does not necessarily mean I prefer the book itself over the other.) The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile is fairly well-known, since it is about…
Real Food for Pregnancy by Lily Nichols, RDN was my first audiobook! And I have to say. . . I don't think I like audiobooks. That being said, I already started another one and I'm enjoying it more than I enjoyed Real Food for Pregnancy as an audiobook. So I think that audiobooks aren't for…
This is a guest post by my lovely sister in law, Autumn. I appreciate her heart and willingness to share some thoughts from her devotion today, and I know it will encourage you as we prepare for resurrection sunday at the end of this week. Somewhere in the midst of all my years of celebrating…
These are simple days. Sleep in, slow wake up.Read the Bible, sit on the couch for a few more minutes petting the dog.Put kettle on for coffee or tea.Breakfast.Put away clean dishes.Load dishwasher with dirty ones.Listen to an audiobook.Light a candle.Play the piano.Put in a load of laundry, listen to the rumble of the washer…
So much of simple living is in the art of noticing. . . if I had to sum this book up in one idea it would be this: become a noticer. Brooke McAlary is a blogger and podcaster at Slow Your Home. She wrote this tiny book as a great place to start for simplifying…
Forgetting the awesome and glorious One Who made it all and holds it all together by the sheer power of His magnificent will, will always insert me into the center. This means that no story will be more important to me than my story. . . Awe of self, worship of self, underlies every form…
I don't know about your family, but it seems that as far back as I can remember, my family has been exceedingly sentimental about Christmas ornaments. Every year when we pulled the Christmas decorations out at the Wilson house - after bringing home a freshly cut tree from Cherry Grove Tree Farm - the adorning…
My thesis in this book is that we must turn from the frantic search for "something more" to "something more sustainable." We need to stop adding something more of ourselves to the gospel. We need to be content with the gospel as God's power for salvation. We also need to be content with his ordinary…
(None of the links in this post benefit me in any way. They are simply to serve as quick access to the books I recommend.) In 2018, I set a lofty goal for myself concerning the amount of reading I wanted to do. I failed. Epically. (WordPress says that's not a word but IT IS…
The start of a new decade is upon us! *insert gasping emoji* First of all, I have been putting a lot of pressure on myself to start a bunch of new things - goals or resolutions, as it were - at the start of the new year. I sat at Zeke's for almost five hours…
I've been learning two things that may sound like opposite concepts but can both be applied simultaneously. It's OK to do things that feel a little crazy, that seem too hard, too big, too complicated. & Living an ordinary, unbusy, unhurried life is OK too. It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life.…
Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. - Psalm 36:5, 7 I have fallen massively short recently. It probably doesn't sound like a big deal, but it…
Since blogging about the social media epidemic, I re-downloaded Instagram. I was only on it for a week before recognizing (ok, my husband noticed it first) how much time it had started to take up. It wasn't that much - comparatively. It wasn't as much as it had been before I deleted the app back in…
I was not paid by Root to promote their business or products. If you choose to use my link to make a purchase, you get a discount and I get "Pretty Points" which, when accumulated, translate into credit to spend on the website. You are welcome to not use my link. This blog post is…
"I release myself from the obligation or expectation to share with the world what is going on in my life." That was what I wrote in the back of my sermon notebook a few weeks ago in the middle of the service. I had deleted Instagram off my phone the previous night, Facebook that morning…
About a month ago, Josh and I got to spend a few days in the beautiful Great Smoky Mountains. While we were there, we got matching stickers that say: GO OUTSIDE AND DO THINGS. The irony is that we put them on our laptops. But they serve as a two-fold reminder to us. First of…
Sometimes life is hard. But sometimes, life is harder. Sometimes you make mistakes and have to go back and apologize, and hope they forgive you, no matter how much you think they won't. But sometimes you do everything right, and they still hate you. Sometimes you recognize you did something wrong and restitution has to…
Everyone wants more money. But I believe the money we need is already ours; we just don't make the best use of it.Yes, I said "we." We started our minimalism journey over six months ago, but old habits die hard. My desires still tend to lean toward shopping. Minimalism is a mindset and a process.…
I've been a part of ministry since I was a baby. First I was just the child of a traveling preacher, then a YPK, PK, Sunday School teacher, missionary, camp counselor, youth group leader, part-time worship leader, pianist, mentor, nursery worker, small group leader. . . and while there have been countless things I've learned…
I want to broach a topic that, in my personal opinion, is not discussed enough among Christians in a scriptural way or in a safe environment. Sex. It is time we stop acting like this is not an issue. It's time we start acknowledging that it is a struggle to remain pure in any capacity…
a step toward mindfulness: part four My eyes have been opened, y'all. Two words for you: MEAL. PREP. I finally get why this fills my Pinterest feed and everyone talks about it! Meal prep has made our lives so much simpler. We decided back in January that we wanted to attempt meal prep and see…
In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. Prov. 14:26-27 I've been thinking quite a bit about this concept since my last blog post. It really spills over…
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on [Jesus] the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before…
