In His Image

As I stare at my computer screen, I wonder what I can possibly say about Thanksgiving that hasn’t been said a hundred times over. Then I pause.

As I’ve attempted to lessen the worldly noise over the past few weeks so that I can tune in more to the Voice of my Good Shepherd, I find myself letting go of my people-pleasing tendencies and I have a renewed desire to please God alone…

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Now is not the time to say, “I told you so.” Pride is a poison and comes with a price. It cost …

With droopy eyes and a body covered in the scent of motherhood, I sat on the floor praying the Lord would rain down relief. Over an hour of listening to him cough and whimper his way to sleep was not music to my mama ears. I had done everything I knew to ease his layers of discomfort, from a trip to the doctor to medicine to a misting humidifier…

I wanted to wish away the horrible tension building in me. College was supposed to be a fresh start, an escape from the past, but there I was, away at college and on the brink of turning 18 years old — and fearful that my buried secret would be exposed. It wasn’t until later that I would recognize the blessing of what was unfolding…

The day was winding down and it was nearing my son’s bedtime. I gazed out the kitchen window and saw the city lights twinkling off in the distance. Then my gaze met a colorful bright light in the sky and at first I thought it was just an airplane. But then I paused and looked closer, realizing it was a star – a beautiful star dancing in colors of red, blue, and green. It glistened near the same spot where I encounter some of the most beautiful sunrises. I was mesmerized…

Some mornings my alarm clock is a toddler singing for mama cuddles. Other mornings I get to shower and enjoy a few sacred moments of quiet before …

You know I’m a bit of a dreamer.

I imagine what it would be like to walk along the shore at sunset with brilliant colors painting the sky, bare feet pillowed in silky sand, hand in hand with You. And I imagine what it would be like to dance wrapped in Your embrace among fields of colorful wildflowers smiling happy. Or what it would be like to climb a mighty mountain together..

I pushed the stroller with my newborn baby nestled inside on a cool winter day. Walks around the lake were life to me, the fresh air soothing to my whole being. As we passed the halfway mark of our stroll …

Sometimes I hear it when I’m rocking my littlest to sleep, when I’m sweeping crumbs off a dirty floor for the tenth time in a day, when I gaze at miracle brothers smiling big at each other, or when my lungs inhale fresh air while pushing a stroller.

It’s a bit noisy out there in the world. There’s no shortage of opinions, no shortage of images that seem to feed comparison. And while there’s the dictionary definition of beautiful, truth is…

What is beautiful to one person, is not necessarily to another.

But there is One whose view of you doesn’t change, whose love for you is…

God’s Word can help us train our minds to think truth and live in line with the Spirit rather than the flesh. Satan is all about life STEALING, but God is all about life GIVING — and His truth brings life. His Word is a gift of love.

My heart was beating fast when the woman on the exercise machine next to me surprised me with her words.

“You’re pretty thin. Are you healthy?”

I briefly took my eyes off the calorie count on the elliptical screen and glanced her direction. Is that really any of your business, I thought to myself.

You just grew a life inside of you for nine months. You put on the pounds for the health of your child’s development, battled morning sickness, fought through shooting pains in your back, huffed and puffed up stairs you once easily climbed, and endured the painful grand finale that is labor.

And now a few months have passed.

The mirror paints a different picture. Some of those extra pounds still …

The morning sun inspired us to go for a stroll around the neighborhood. Little boy put on his airplane helmet, got on his bike, and off we ventured. I traveled by foot, enjoying the fresh air. He pedaled fast, other times slow, coming to a halt on occasion to chat or admire a treasure.

When my feet are planted on mountaintops or I find myself in the valley below, there is one thing I am sure of. I am a daughter of the King and He pursues me with steadfast love. Even when I feel unworthy of love so amazing …

It was a cloudy Sunday afternoon. After spending the morning at church and enjoying lunch at home with my little family of three, I carried on with the normal routine of attempting to put my son down for a midday nap.Once my little one was slumbering away in toddler dreamland, I quickly changed into my running gear and laced up my running shoes. I peered out the window noticing an overcast sky…

Before the lights go out at bedtime we always say prayers, and this particular night my son chose the five-finger prayer card that rests on his nightstand. We focused on the ring finger: “My ringer finger is weak and cannot stand alone well. Pray for the weak and sick.”

The wheels turned in my son’s mind as he thought with extra care about who fit into this category.

“Daddy,” he said. “We can pray for Daddy because his spinal cord is hurt.”

I’ve had my share of no shower and no make-up days especially since becoming a mom, but I still spend a little time on my hair and make-up most mornings. On my best mornings I’m able to “get ready” and even squeeze in a little quiet time with the Lord before my son arises. If my son is awake …