Do you ever get to the end of the day, exhausted and yet feeling like you have no real sense of what you accomplished? Knowing that you took care of the necessities, or at least tried to, and yet something about your day holds no weight? No fulfillment. Maybe those days have multiplied into weeks…months…dare … More 5 Ways to Care for A Weary Soul
I’ve been in a weird place lately. Trying to find a new normal amid a pandemic and social distancing. I’ve found in these strange times that I’ve had an incredibly hard time reading anything (and I dearly love to read). Novels, social media posts, the Brit Lit essays and assignments I’ve been grading–no matter what … More When Reading the Bible Feels Too Hard
Today I looked through old notes on my phone, looking for one thing and finding another. A note from two years ago–my thoughts about transitions in life. I must have meant to blog my thoughts, but as it often happens in the craziness of life, way led on to way and it was forgotten. Today, … More Doorposts, Gates, And Facing Transition
I don’t know about you, but many times I roll out of bed in the morning, and I don’t feel like a new creation, but an old one. … More I AM RENEWED
I almost titled this post “The Tail of A Trashcan Salamander.” See what silly punniness I (almost) stopped myself from indulging in ;). One unusually quiet fall morning, I sipped my coffee, cherishing the few minutes of quiet between my husband leaving for work and my hungry-bird kiddos waking to demand to be fed the … More The Tale of A Trashcan Salamander: Don’t Let Your Circumstances Define You
So I did something scary today. I went on Facebook Live… That woke up my fear of public speaking in a big way :/. Yikes that was stress-inducing… Anyways……. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am a goal driven creature. I have this way of turning even the most relaxing activities … More Setting Grace Goals: I Can’t Out-“do” Grace
I woke up the other morning with an odd thought buzzing in my mind. Thank God for the no’s and not yets. What?? It wasn’t as though I had just come through to the other side and gotten a glorious yes on my writing journey and was reflecting the beautiful tapestry created along the way. … More Thankful for No’s and Not Yets
When I look at this photograph my grandmother took, I can’t help but wonder at it. The graceful petunia, often seen spilling out of containers boxes and hanging planters, growing in such an unexpected place. And it’s not simply that some wayward seed landed in this crack and sprouted. It’s the way this plant has … More What Does it Really Mean to Thrive?
When you were four years old, playing on the beach, you ran to me. “Mommy! I found some shells!” I hurried over and looked, expecting to see a few common cockle shells in your hand. I couldn’t believe it. In the flat of your palm was a sand dollar. A tiny thing no bigger than … More Dear Daughter, I’m Sorry for the Broken Pieces
Levi, my two-year-old, crawled up beside me while I was writing in my journal a few days ago. He points to the place I’m writing. “Yours?” “You book?” I nod. He scoots closer and watches as I write in my leather bound journal that I bought on a trip to Italy several years ago. I’m … More Scribbling in God’s Book of Life
It’s officially here! My new free devotional study, When The Heavens Are Silent, is now available for download. When you signs up to the receive the devotional study, you will also receive an invite from me to participate in my 8 week Bible study group running from May 3rd to June 21st. I can’t wait … More Free Devotional and Online Bible Study Group
*Drum Roll….* A new free resource is coming to Hope Perch, releasing May 1st. When The Heavens Are Silent is a scripture based study for gaining a better understanding of why we experience seasons where God feels distant. It includes seven ways to not only survive, but to also thrive in the “dry” seasons. Everyone … More When The Heavens Are Silent: My Experience
Happy 1st Blog-a-versary Hope Perch. … More Lessons from One Year of Blogging
I’ve always had a bit of an obsession with untangling jewelry. And today I couldn’t help but see myself in the midst of the knot. … More UnDone
No one leaves me questioning how I portray being a woman as much as my daughter. She is my miniaturized mirror image, reflecting all my flaws and successes as a mother. She misses nothing. Of course all three of my children reflect back bits of me. The phrases I use. My facial expressions. When I … More Mirror, Mirror: Being A Woman of God
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