They turn on each other in a New York minute. One second they’re playing nicely together, sharing toys, and laughing. The next I hear screams of “Mama!” as my six-year-old chases his younger sibling through the room. Part of me wants to just close the door and lock them in there. But I figure I should at least see if both kids are still alive. After I kneel down on the floor and get the scoop on what happened, I tell both boys to apologize. I am struck by how quickly they forgive each Continue Reading
4 Truths to Help You Find Rest in God’s Grace
One weekday morning several months ago, I woke up to a familiar tune. In my grogginess I realized my husband had personalized the alarm on my phone. He knew the words of Tenth Avenue North’s By Your Side held a reminder I desperately needed. A reminder that his grace covers me, that I don’t need to strive to attain his love. I’d fallen into the old, familiar habit of running again and the lyrics of the song washed over me like raindrops on arid soil. Why are you striving these daysWhy Continue Reading
What Our Past Can Teach Us About God’s Grace
"Are you a pagan?” I sat in a body-piercing studio with the owner gazing at a tattoo displayed on the nave of my back. It was a gnome, sitting on a mushroom and playing a fife. Everything about it screamed pot-smoker, hippy and apparently, pagan. And to think I got it because I thought it looked cool. To me it said, “Outsider,” a label I gave myself during my younger years. The man’s question caught me off guard. I was twenty-one at the time and wasn’t sure who I was, let alone what I Continue Reading