Good morning... With some people, it feels like a sin to "ask." Asking a question is like challenging authority. Asking for clarification means you are a bother. Asking about options can complicate matters and prolong a decision. With some people, asking for anything cracks the surface of their status quo and anger oozes out, messy and mean. This weekend, [...]
Good morning... I bend my own 4:00 am rule and begin brewing my morning coffee at 2:40 today. "It's Mother's Day," I figure, "and my gift to myself will be an afternoon nap." I love savoring these quiet, creative hours in the middle of the night, when God invites me close. At 7:30 am, I will walk to and [...]
Good morning... Yesterday, three of us were talking about different types of wake up calls. One preschool mom said, "When my son wakes up each morning, he calls in a sing-songy voice, 'Hellooo... It's meee...'" The other mom of adult children said, "Whenever my daughter woke up as a little girl, she would loudly yell 'Juice!' 'Juice!' 'Juice!' or [...]
Good morning... Saturday night's gathering had been planned for a while. One friend invited me and another friend to sleepover as the final hurrah of my birthday season. When is the last time you had a pajama party with some of your best buddies? We arrived a little after 5:00 pm and started our all-nighter with some hors d'oevres, [...]
Good morning... One late afternoon, I came home from work to find a question emailed to me by a friend. She wrote, "This is the practice I find most difficult: trying to be a good 'christian' with people who drain you. I'm not talking about people who are sick or going through something difficult. It's people who thrive on [...]
Good morning... Three thoughts pop to mind as I re-watch the moving video I shared with you yesterday (if you missed it, please enjoy it today at https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=olSyCLJU3O0). First, "What will my kids remember from their childhood years?" Will they recall my best parenting moments, my worst parenting moments, or some conglomerate of the two? Often times, photographs help [...]
Good morning... Each year for the past four years I have hosted a Bible study on Wednesday afternoons for the "moms of high school seniors" from my kids' school. Next week, I meet with a group of three moms who want to begin the special tradition at a neighboring school, and I have been asked to mentor another woman [...]
