This Father’s Day I was surrounded by four fantastic fathers: My dad, my husband, my brother, and my brother in law. Each father is unique in personality and parenting style, but these men are equally dedicated to loving their kids. Having a wealth of information at my disposal I asked them to offer up some parenting advice for us […]
Parenting: Your Face Speaks a Thousand Words
Sitting at my niece’s soccer game, I saw a mother growl at her son to move out of her way so she could watch her daughter who was playing on the field. Her expression was harsh to say the least. In fact, it was borderline disgust. This post isn’t about mommy shaming; parenting isn’t easy. […]
For My Mother-in-Law
Celebrating Mother’s Day this year I’ve been thinking a lot about my mother-in-law, Karen. I’ve always just called her Mom since the first time we met, Thanksgiving 1994. At that point Michael had already purchased my engagement ring and it was clear that she was meeting her future daughter-in-law. At the end of our visit, […]
Dear Church: People with Mental Illness Love Jesus Too
Last week I wrote a post in honor of National Mental Health Month encouraging our families to start talking openly about our experiences and normalizing the stigma of mental illness. With that in mind my husband Michael and I share a bit of our story in this short video. Each one of us face struggles. We […]
Mental Health: The Church & Our Families
May is National Mental Health Month. It’s easy to let this go by unrecognized. We’d rather not dwell on the difficulty of mental illness and how it affects so many of our friends and families. We all know someone who struggles with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or another mental illness that makes daily living more […]
A Powerful Prayer
“The power of prayer is on the end of the hearer, not the speaker.” Jodi Detrick We sometimes feel that if we could just muster up a truly powerful prayer, then our prayers would be answered in the way that we desire. I don’t know about you, but I just love a happy ending. A […]
The Resurrection and Your Life
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life, He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” John 11:25 (NKJV) My husband and I spent Spring Break taking our son, Ben, on a couple of college tours in Eastern Washington. At times I feel beyond excited for this new […]
Can’t You Be a Better Person?
Driving down the road one day, Michael and I were discussing a parenting issue involving our son, Ben. Every few minutes, Emily, who was 10 years old at the time, kept piping up with her opinion on the situation. We finally said, “Emily this really isn’t any of your business.” She sighed, saying, “Fine, if […]
The Power of Community
This weekend I had the privilege of working alongside 70 women to put on the Northwest Women’s Conference. I’ve been a part of this team since 2004, and it continues to be an honor to serve with these amazing women, each unique and gifted in their own ways. Each year’s NWWC provides a different emphasis […]
I Want My Kids to Sin
I want my kids to sin. Or more accurately, I know my kids will sin and I want them to teach them gospel of grace, repentance, and the power of forgiveness. I want them to know that conviction draws us closer to God and condemnation pushes us away from Him. I want them to know […]