poetry Two Mites Two mites was all she had Two mites was all she gave Two mites was everything Ten times the tithe Ten times the gift That all the others gave Could it be that when Our little drains away To further nothing than before That then we have rich Chance to
motherhood What we cannot keep We’ve come, Lord. We’ve found You worth it all! We’ve lost, yes, so much. Babies and homes and dreams. But how can we measure it all When next to you - they are so small? We couldn’t keep a single one, But we can give them
poetry Joy Joy. It comes in the morning. How I dreaded those boxes. Filing, piling, leaving. But there they go, And yet, I feel so full. Full of the future, full of His purpose, full of hope. There’s a turn in the tunnel. The one we use so much To get
Christian Living That boat Where’s your faith? In the boat? Yeah. He was sleeping. I was screaming. He was resting. I was testing. He was controlling. I was rolling. Where’s my faith? In the boat? Yeah. The boat can fill, but He cannot. The boat will crack, but He will not. The
motherhood Little Home Love You know who taught me to love my home? I have a friend who got married right after I had my second baby. You know, when you realize that as difficult as toddlers are, adding a newborn to the mix makes them harder? And that bodies don’t just bounce
poetry Doorkeepers A doorkeeper To swing the home open wide. To usher us in with soft smile inside. A doorkeeper Is exactly our need. To welcome the weary and close out the dreary. A doorkeeper For the great house of God A tender refrain, Come in, for you're spent. Come into His
Devotional Bitter waters Remember when the Israelites were walking in the desert complaining because they needed water? They had just crossed the Red Sea three days before and watched their enemies drown behind them. They knew God could take care of them. Was it wrong to need water? No. Was it wrong to
Christian Living 490 times My daughter recently asked me if that means she only has to forgive her little sister 490 times. "Jesus said seventy times seven, mom!" I smiled. “Have you been counting?” She hadn’t. But she understood. And it's a tough pill to swallow - for grown ups too. Have you
motherhood What would abundance wear? Sometimes I stand in front of my closet and feel paralyzed about what to wear. That patch of carpet in front of my closet? It’s a battle ground. It's the stage for the expectations, limitations, judgments, and disappointments of all it means to be a woman, let alone a
motherhood Fresh Bread Want to read and pray, but there’s no time or energy? First: This is hard. Might as well say it. And it's not because moms don’t want to. We do. And worse, Satan doesn’t want us to. He really doesn’t. Second: This is possible. And the
poetry Mining “He opens shafts in a valley away from where anyone lives; they are forgotten by travelers; they hang in the air, far away from mankind; they swing to and fro.” Job 28:4 He sought me out in valley far Where ne’er a man had gone. There He plunged,
Christmas A Christmas gift and a break Dear reader, Christmas is almost upon us. I'm looking forward to celebrating and resting with my girls, Joel and with our families. Thank you for your continued support and encouragement this year. I am thankful for each one of you. I write for the help and hope of you individually.
Christmas Come all ye faithful Dear Momma, Do you know that Christmas is for you too? As you plan the things and string the lights and wipe the noses and kiss the owies? Do you know that He came for you too? As you arrange their advent activities — the ones that remind them daily that
Christmas Christmas 2023 One year, four girls, four completely different people. While they all contribute to the drama, the fridge artwork and the food and toothpaste consumption, they all couldn’t be more different. This is a source of joy and trial, mind you. And when I (Rachel) got a book to help
motherhood This Christmas This year, Christmas will look different. And you know what? That’s ok. My husband is currently out of work. His company downsized and gave him a severance to leave. Since then he’s been hunting - but not finding. So here’s Christmas but no work. And you know
Devotional Jesus is the best Savior “Jesus is the best Savior.” I can’t remember what led to that statement, but it was a conversation with Hannah, my 4 year old. I was trying to sum something up for her to understand, and the Spirit summed something up for me to understand too. Jesus is the
Christian Living Heart Keeping "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it flow the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23). Heart-keeping is hard and holy work, but the work is in the tending, not in the hiding. A hidden heart is like my grandma's watch in my nightside table. Mostly, a treasure
worship Worried Warriors Does rumination plague your quiet and disrupt your joy? He can turn this “flaw” into a strength, if you’ll let Him. Every worried thought about your marriage or kids or church or world or self — is a thought that you can verbalize to Him. Is there anyone else that
Wrestling Faith Aching and glorious This in-between place. Full of His goodness, A lone brittle space. A hallway, a guess-way A pathway - I hope. Full of my questions With fear I still grope. No answers yet As I look to and fro, I’m stopping to fret, Your Word I still
On the shore “Children, do you have any food?” They must have groaned. What else was on their minds except that they had failed to find any fish? Fishing all night, trying their best. Working, sweating through the darkness. Grunting in the hush of dawn. Have any food? Despite their best efforts, no.
motherhood Unseen Most parenting happens unseen. In the drop-offs and pick-ups. One the moments in between In the morning snuggle love Most parenting no one sees Only you and them and Him the daily meeting needs The moments delighted in. Most of it seems little but it’s not little to them
motherhood Keep it up, Bean How does the baby I held become the young woman I see? How did your tiny self become an adult overnight? How did our conversations move from birds and trees to grief and change? And just as quickly — laughing over chickens? What is this “in-between,” preteen phase of little and
poetry This Is How This is how But it's not what I wanted This is how But it's not in my plan This is how But it's too uncertain This is how But it's all gone too fast This is how I’ll listen now. This is how… My will is done. This is
poetry Because He said so You know what every older-than-me mom tells me about parenting? “Enjoy it.” “Enjoy these moments.” “Enjoy where they are, they’ll never be there again.” And do you know how I feel about it? Weird. Maybe it's just my personality or thinking too deeply or being suspicious, but I just
poetry The Weeping Jesus I've met the weeping Jesus And He said "Come unto Me, I've carried all your heartache I saw just what you'd see." I've met the weeping Jesus With no platitudes for pain No forced or empty optimism Just weeping o'er sin's stain. I've met the weeping Jesus He knows my
