life. faithful.

  Who is this man? The Jewish chief priests and elders accuse him of crimes their people say deserve his death, yet he doesn't open his mouth. They say he is claiming to be the King of the Jews, staging a rebellion, yet he just stands there, silent. He listens to the crowd calling out for his crucifixion, be he doesn't defend himself. What kind of man does that? Who is this man, that he just walks like a lamb to slaughter? He is mocked and beaten, spit on and with thorns pressed into his brow--and yet he doesn't resist, doesn't protest, doesn't respond to those mocking him as King. He is offered wine to dull his pain, but he refuses. What kind of man can take such pain? Who is this man, who even when hung on a cross doesn't curse his executioners? Even now as he dies they mock him, yet his only response? " Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing. " He hangs on a cross, yet he promises the criminal beside him that he will be...

Love yourself Live your truth Follow your heart Do what's right for you Get what you deserve Believe in yourself  The world is all about telling us how we should view ourselves. What we think and feel is valued above all else--don't let anybody else tell you what you should do, just live your best life right now. And while you're living that best life, remember that you should be given the best at all times--after all, you're worth it. But what are we really worth? If you look at the chemical basis, here's approximately what we've got: 65% oxygen 18.5% carbon 9.5% hydrogen 2.6% nitrogen 1.3% calcium 0.6% phosphorous 0.2% potassium 0.2% sulfur 0.2% sodium 0.2% chlorine 0.1% magnesium There are more elements at even lower amounts, but altogether? Estimates vary, but going off of the prices of chemical elements listed on wikipedia, you're looking at around $30. Obviously, we're more than the sum of our parts, though. Right? So what does the bible say abou...

                    "The celestial realms announce God’s glory;      the skies testify of His hands’ great work. Each day pours out more of their sayings;      each night, more to hear and more to learn. Inaudible words are their manner of speech,      and silence, their means to convey. Yet from here to the ends of the earth, their voices have gone out;      the whole world can hear what they say." (Psalm 19:1-4, VOICE)

Motherhood is a lot of things. It has good and bad, ups and downs...and no shortage of people telling you all the things that you need to know to be a good mom. If you're a mom, you've thought all of these at some point--I know I have. I'm far from perfect as a mom, and I still have a ton to learn. But as of today, we officially have 5 teenagers so I thought it would be a good time to share some of what I've learned in the past 18 years of motherhood...or rather, some of the things I've unlearned. 1. You'll fall in love with your child at first sight. I've become a mother in two different ways, through giving birth and through adoption, and I'll be completely honest. My first reaction when my tiny daughter was placed in my arms the first time wasn't a whole lot different from when we brought the three we adopted into our home: "What in the world am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to know how to be a mom?" Yes, I'm sure there are w...

 Moms and dads, we are failing our daughters. The world is telling them how to dress and how to carry themselves, and we're allowing it. We are letting Hollywood and social media teach our daughters how they should look, how they should speak, how they should carry themselves--and in that world, for some reason the only voice telling them they should be "demure" comes from an overweight man pretending to be a woman. What are we doing?! The world is telling our daughters that their value comes from how others perceive them . They are being told that they should dress "to catch a man" from childhood. They are shown women with unrealistic body types and told that if they don't measure up, they are somehow not good enough. I see teenage girls every day who are wearing skin tight leggings or booty shorts with tight, low cut tops. They are being taught to reveal every curve of their bodies while simultaneously being taught to conceal every perceived imperfection o...

  Welcome to 2025! Through the years, I've joined a group of people who have chosen to trade in the traditional New Year's resolutions. Instead, the idea is to choose one word that will stand as your theme for the year. It's what started this blog in 2012, and though I haven't chosen a word every year, it has been a steady feature most years since then. Some years, I've struggled to find a word up until January 1st. There have even been years that I've chosen a word, then started writing a post and found that a different word is stuck in my head and had to change everything. This year, though, one word has stood out for almost a month: STEWARDSHIP I can't say that it's the prettiest word...it's not like "believe" of "faithful" or "trust" or "follow" that lend themselves to flowy calligraphy. Instead, it seems business-like in my mind. I've got to admit, it isn't necessarily a word I'm super excited...