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Wrestling with Disappointment and Finding Hope in God’s Faithfulness
This summer wasn’t at all like I expected it to be. I had big plans for this summer. I was going to finish my sci-fi/fantasy/adventure book. (I wrote one chapter.) I was going to participate in “Writing with Jeeves and Wooster” through The Habit. (I attended one lecture and did none of the writing exercises.) I was going to see all the friends I didn’t get to see very often during the school year. (I saw one friend twice.) I was going to spend every moment I could with the kids, soaking up the family time like a sponge in a wading pool. (I ended getting distracted by my iPad…
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Exercising Post-Grave’s Disease: Why Are My Legs So Tired?!
Let’s talk about my recent health history. In December, the day before Christmas Eve, I woke up around 4am with a runny nose. My runny nose turned into something that felt like heartburn. That something that felt like heartburn turned into a really weird dizzy spell as I was walking down the stairs. You’ve probably already guessed the conclusion to this story: I had covid-19. Covid-19 caused my autoimmune thyroid disorder, Grave’s Disease, to flare up. One afternoon shortly after my quarantine ended, I went hiking with my family through the snow at a local state park. I tried to walk up a steep hill I could normally handle, and…
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Stand Firm: A Collection of Verses from 2 Thessalonians {New Music Monday}
I wrote the following song as our Pastor preached through 2 Thessalonians. I like the good reminder to “stand firm.” As Christians, we stand on the rock that is Jesus Christ. Streams of living water flow from our Savior, and he welcomes us to come and drink from them freely. Stand firm, dear friends, by placing your hope in Jesus. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8). Stand Firm Now may our Lord, Jesus Christ himself,And God our Father, who loved and gave usEternal comfort and good hope through graceComfort your hearts,And establish them in every good work and word.…
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Driving Outside the Lines: How Grace Steers Me in a New Direction
When you drive through an empty parking lot, do you stay in the lines, or do you forget the lines and drive at whatever angle you want to? Up until adulthood, I drove inside the lines. I used my blinker whenever I turned, and I stopped completely at every stop sign. I even drove at or below the speed limit. I was a model driver in every way I could be. But something happened to me when I became an adult. I started to question the rules–just a little. Why do I have to drive in the lines, even though nobody else does? Do they know something I don’t know?…
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Finding Stories Here and There
I have my laptop open in front of me. To my right, a glass of soda that my husband poured and never finished (I’m sipping it now), a large, square, plastic container filled with watermelon, and a plate that once held a piece of peanut-butter-chocolate-chip cake. To my left, a mason jar part-way full of water with a gray lid on top, and a pan of cake. A bronzed napkin holder just touches the edge of my laptop. The napkins lean to one side. At some point, I’ll probably refill them. Small translucent drops of melting snow slide off the roof in front of the window above my kitchen sink.…