Both of my kiddos are now full-fledged elementary students, and with both starting new schools this year, it’s taken a month or so to feel like I have a sense of normalcy in new routines. These first few years will still involve lots of play, but as I consider what growing into their education looks like, I pray that these words from Proverbs 2:1-8 would be a guiding light…
Read MoreTonight at dinner, Eloïse prayed…
Read MoreSeveral weeks ago I shared a link on Facebook from Hidden Brain, a podcast I often listen to during my commute. This episode, titled "When did Marriage Become so Hard?", presented some fascinating research about cultural shifts in our understanding of marriage throughout history as well as analysis of the current trend toward high divorce rates…
Read MoreTonight, over pillow talk...
Read MoreIt is no secret that as a young girl, I was the poster child for traditional, American femininity. My barbies had divine romances that ended in marriage. My favorite dress up dramatization was wedding. I followed the narratives of Belle and Jasmine and Ariel with an unnatural hunger, concocting for myself imaginative, desperate situations that would always end in dramatic rescue. In high school, I framed Disney movie stills and artwork above my bed. I dreamed that one day my prince would come...
Read MoreReposted from Cornerstone West LA. “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”
Read More"I can do it myself," replies the small boy I carried in my belly not four, short years ago. And he does—struggling at awkward angles to force his head through, wiggling squishy hands and toes each into their proper sleeve. What once was my job is now his, and I watch him closely, almost scientifically. I want to mark these movements in my memory's timeline. A baby, but now a boy...
Read MoreYesterday morning Phil shared a verse with me that he was mulling over from Romans 12...
Read MoreI recently picked up one of Jen Hatmaker's audiobooks to listen to during my commute. For the Love is the second most recent in a slew of books written by this popular blogger. I keep hearing her mentioned and lauded around on social media. Then, she got caught up in a controversy about her "stance" on a certain theological issue, which really piqued my interest...
Read MoreSilence. It is an unfortunate reality of digging through the records of women past. As we try to shed our 21st century perspective to listen to and understand what it was like to be a woman in ancient Israel, Greece, or Rome, we are confronted with one of the great tragedies of patriarchy. There is but a small body of scripture devoted to the words and stories of women because for so many generations of our world's history, these voices were largely considered unimportant...
Read MoreReposted from Cornerstone West LA. We are a camping family. So periodically we pack down the car with our tent and sleeping bags and head out into the middle of nowhere to enjoy God’s creation. No screens and no wifi, instead there is hiking and a lot of dirt and sweat and sore muscles. At the end of each day, after the kids have exhausted themselves and are tucked in for the night, we enjoy a few meditative moments watching the campfire flames flicker in the dark. Fire is a great servant, but a terrible master...
Read MoreMany Bible studies that focus on female characters in the Old or New Testament are centered around determining if she is an example to follow or a cautionary tale. But when we ask of our Dorothy, "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?", we miss the overarching theme of the story, which is always first about God and only secondarily (if at all) about the major players...
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