A year of loss. Is God safe to trust in the midst of darkness?

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, I lost my oldest boy. It was summer. He'd packed a handful of clothes, a good pocketknife, and...

God is faithful even when we fail.

On October 31st, we sold our house. It was profitable to do so. It was probably wise in the long run, and hopefully a way to create a...

How do we live with God when we're staring death in the face?

Miscarriage and the goodness of God in the land of the living. Note: viewer discretion is advised for the photo of a preborn baby. The...

I recently announced that I was pregnant. Again. I hit 2 months of gestation with baby number 8 the day Roe. Vs. Wade was overturned in...

Here am I and the children God has given me.

Thoughts of turning 40 and making every moment count

Motherhood fact: parenting a horde of children can be lonely. It’s an odd juxtaposition, but the amount of children you have can be...

This is the prayer of a father. General Douglas MacArthur Was surrounded by challenges in the Philippines during World War II. As Supreme...

I often claim that the altar where I worship the Lord best is my kitchen sink. Not really joking. Prayers rise with the steam and bubbles...

That is where God meets mothers after all - right in the midst of the mess.

This is the sharpie marker cover I found outside the closet in my 3 year old's room. Just the cover. No marker. I know now that few...

My first son. My first teenager. He turned 15 yesterday. He signed up for drivers Ed on the eve of his birthday, paying for it out of his...

Ben is home from the hospital. The emergency visit was an emergency. His brain was filling up with fluid and needed surgical...

If I could live 2020 over again...

Christmas Eve. I’m taking a moment between cooking and cleaning and 2 year old neediness to reminisce. Most of my Decembers, at least...

Business as usual. We survived the holiday. Now, it’s back to work, back to life. As normal, my husband got up to prepare for work. I...

As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. Proverbs 27:17 With six boys in my house, countenances can get...

Yeah, it’s often been a challenge to be thankful for 2020. We have family members who’ve stopped speaking to us. Others would like to see...

Simplicity is attractive. Minimalism is growing (I love oxymorons, heheh...) Marie Kondo has earned her following. But I am not one of...

Life without friends is poor indeed. I am an introvert, but even so, I can look back on my life and see the impact of other women on it....

For parents-turned-grandparents. I won’t have a mom and dad forever. Some days I take them for granted. But they’re not so young any...

I don’t want to call it a testimony. Because for years I didn’t think I really had one. Aren’t those stories of young adults saved from...

Love. I’m not talking about the butterflies in my stomach kind, the Valentines Day roses, the Hollywood kind. Not today. I’m talking...

Because marriage is a union of two good forgivers. And he’s very gracious. Because he was willing to travel the world with me, and also...

Most of the names of my children have meaning. Some are from the Bible. (Shiloh, Joshua, Beniah, Benjamin). Some are from Godly men of...

Public school education was made compulsory throughout America one century ago (plus two years). Pilgrims recognized the worth of an...

I remember the first time I accessed the internet. The local library in my small town had set up a computer. Are you old enough to you...

I was shocked when the ultrasound tech told me it wasn’t a boy. Boys were all I knew. I’d earned some street cred from a decade in the...

My quadriplegic friend from college died last year. And ten years ago we found out we were having a paraplegic son. Up until meeting...

Do you eat when you’re anxious? I know the excuse about magnesium in chocolate being good for relaxing. It’s a great excuse; I have no...

After a month of vibrant New England color, I woke to a monochromatic world. Black and white in the predawn light, the pristine blanket...

Today, November 2, I am thankful for peace. Oh how I love quiet Monday mornings. I mean, I would love them, if they existed. The rooster,...

This month, I will purpose to be thankful every day. November is beginning on a Sunday in 2020, and it finds me in fellowship at church....

It is not time to go woke. It is time for the church to awaken!

It comes in waves. Some days you look at the wild eyed, half-naked creatures running across the lawn and wonder, “Who are these children...

My two youngest sons are named after Civil War generals. Well, their middle names are. Names are important, part of the definition of our...

I've had extra time to read recently. A mixed blessing. My kids have had more time to go Lord of the Flies around the house. Without...

It's 8:00 Sunday morning. The Corona virus social distancing adventure that is our life right now makes this day different from normal...

It was Thursday. I pushed a wet cart through crowded aisles.  There were children everywhere, grabbing items off shelves, poking each...

My world shrinks after having a baby. Adding another human to the earth does increase the population, but for me it means that life will...

The home school year is in full swing once again. I managed the annual culling of coverless markers and broken crayons. Everyone in the...

I am mom. I am so very very mom. I’m pretty sure I could officially change my name to “Mom” and no one would flinch. I even get junk mail...

Come to Me, all you who labor – and I will give you rest.  -Matthew 11:28 (This is a birth story, complete with all the guts and glory. ...

Here we are.  I’ve been pregnant 36 weeks.  It’s the home stretch.  I will meet our newest offspring in about a month!  See me waddle....

“Then He brought us out from there, to bring us in…”  Deuteronomy 6:23 photo by Aura Moore I need to tell you a story. Almost exactly...

The day started with a white shirt.  The younger boys poured bowls of frozen blueberries after breakfast.  It went downhill from there....

Today is the International Day of the Girl. I don’t know who decides these things, or who else besides Americans would care to celebrate...