Why is Prayer so Difficult?

I have been thinking about my prayer life recently and prayer in general. Prayer seems like an obvious, simple part of the Christian life but I know I often struggle with it. Why is prayer so hard at times? Here are a few challenges I’ve faced and am still working through.

1. No Time

   Prayer is something that we often say we don’t have time for. When I imagine myself not having time to pray, I’m thinking of sitting in a chair for an hour. Yes, in that moment it’s easy to say I have no time for that! However, we see in I Thess. 5:17 the simple verse, “Pray without ceasing.” And we have to acknowledge that can’t mean walking around with eyes closed 24/7, but God wouldn’t give us something impossible to do so…. I’ve heard it said this way — we are to continually, as things pop in our minds or happen around us, bring them to God in prayer. I have started praying a quick prayer for the day before I get out of bed in the mornings. I will pray for specific people before I read my Bible. When I hear of a need, I stop and pray for just that request. We somehow have in our minds that prayer doesn’t “work” unless we are on our knees. Yes, we need to make time for structured prayer {more on that below} but we can also be sending on-the-spot prayers up all day! Consistency builds a habit that slowly becomes natural.

2. No Thought

   This sounds like a weird one but let me explain. I was having a conversation with one of my children the other day and he said he sometimes feels like all his prayers are the same and he asked what to do. I was brought up short for a minute. We talked through what he usually prays, what other things he could pray for, and to remember Who we are praying to. I walked away from that conversation thinking about my own prayers. Was I mindlessly praying the same thing? Could I remember what I prayed that morning? Sometimes an activity can become so routine we perform it without thinking. While prayer should be part of our daily routine, it shouldn’t be aimlessly quoted. And that leads into the next point…

3. No Plan

   Beyond having a set aside time to pray, we should go into that time with a plan of what to pray. Back to the conversation with my son, he told me at camp, the speaker had mentioned praising God for what he has done before asking for what we want done. You might have heard of the ACTS method* of praying: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. This helps to put the focus on God and less on us. By starting our prayers with praise to God, confession for any sins in our lives, thankfulness for what we already have, and then asking for our needs, we’re reminded of who we are compared to Who we are praying to. Thinking about how we pray through these keeps us focused during prayer.

4. No Desire

   This is the one we might struggle with but don’t want to admit. What Christian doesn’t want to talk to God?! But sometimes seasons of life or circumstances leave us fumbling. What can we even pray? God already knows so why do it? Things just seem to get worse! If this sounds familiar, I encourage you to start praying the Psalms back to God. It doesn’t have to be word for word. But read through Psalm 1, then pray it:

   Lord, help me be someone who doesn’t stand with the wicked. Give me a desire for your wisdom and your Word. Help me manage my time so I can meditate on your Word. Plant me in your truth and bring people into my life to encourage me.

   When we are going through trials or a dry season spiritually, it’s difficult to have the words to say. Praying the Bible, particularly the Psalms, back to God is a helpful way to stay in the habit of praying.

Be encouraged, friend! There are ways to tackle the excuses and difficulties we can find ourselves struggling with. It’s always good to have an accountability partner for things like Bible reading and prayer, someone who will keep you on track and ask how things are going.

If you still don’t know where to begin, simply start talking to God! Bring your worries to him, praise him for the beauty of nature, give thanks for what you have. The more you become used to talking to God, the easier it will become.

*I have no idea who first came up with this acronym but I like it and take no credit for it!

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The Danger of Pride

The longer I live, the more convinced I am at the destructive power of pride. It creeps into lives and habits, it appears harmless, it is easily excused. But the fallout destroys not only the demonstrator, but often those around him/her.

Why do I believe it’s a problem? Because it takes so many forms. We have probably encountered someone and thought, “He’s proud” based on attitude and manner. But pride also gets into our lives in less obvious ways. We think we know more than other people, we assume we understand situations better, we soon believe we are better. Maybe it’s an attitude of control because we know how it goes and no one does it as well as we do. That desire is often rooted in pride. 

An intellectual pride is incredibly dangerous because it makes us unteachable. If we are always the smartest person in the room, no one can teach us anything. We have nothing to learn. And this mindset easily gets us into trouble in biblical matters. If we think we know everything about God, we are showing our arrogance. But I’ve seen many people who walk away from faith do so on the basis of their own intelligence, completely disregarding the One who gave them the ability to reason.

But pride isn’t just a sin that attacks the unsaved. Christians are just as vulnerable and prone to it. We might be tempted to label it as confidence, the dressed up word that makes pride acceptable. Or maybe we blame our attitude to personality. “That’s just who I am.” But the root is pride.

In Proverbs, we read that pride is the opposite of humility. This might seem obvious, but how often do we try to appear humble while we boast in our greatness? This is also pride.

When pride comes, then comes dishonor, But with the humble is wisdom. (Prov. 11:2)

A man’s pride will bring him low, But a humble spirit will obtain honor. (Prov. 29:23)

But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)

By pride comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised is wisdom. (Prov. 13:10)

In the last verse, the “well-advised” is also translated as “those who receive counsel” or “those who take advice.” Notice that that is not an attribute given to the proud.

Another hallmark of a life lived in pride is a lack of gratitude. If we are focused on how great we are and all the things we can do, it’s difficult to look around and be thankful for the people and circumstances around us. In many ways, we might be tempted to think things are so great because WE are so great! Isn’t this what so many people call out in the wealthy? That arrogant, pompous, look at all my things attitude. And yet, even those much less rich can have this same attitude about their things. 

And finally, pride can lead to so many more sins. An unteachable attitude will drive us from godly counsel and correction. A proud spirit belittles and disregards others. Pride gives the illusion of being above the law, being able to get away with things, and talking down to others. We don’t have to imagine what pride leads to because we see examples in the lives of celebrities and politicians and, sadly, ministry leaders. People who thought so highly of their position or intellect or power that they were unfaithful in their marriages, dishonest at work, gained money fraudulently. So many of the sins we see controlling others, and ourselves, can be traced back to an attitude of pride.

God feels so strongly against pride that he says in Proverbs 15:25, “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished.” That is a strong declaration that should bring us to our knees in humility! 

How can we fight against pride? The first step is to realize we are all susceptible to it. We’ve already noted that pride comes in many forms and some might be more of a struggle for us than others. But we shouldn’t develop an over confidence in our ability to not be proud. We need to ask God to help us be humble and to point out ways that we are proud.

The next step is to accept correction. When someone points out sin in our lives, we need to prayerfully bring that to God. Even if we consider it more of a personality issue, or someone taking something the wrong way, we need to be humble enough to recognize that personality or preference doesn’t excuse sin. The fastest way to fall into pride is to believe there’s nothing wrong with us and it’s everyone else who has a problem.

Finally, the key to everything in our lives is to stay in God’s Word and in prayer. We need to daily be dwelling on the truth of the Bible and daily talking to our Lord. It is through these avenues that the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin as we grow in our walk each day.
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The Consequences of a Broken World

I’m not sure if it’s me getting older or if I’m noticing things more. But this world has problems. Throughout history, we have had wars and criminals and natural disasters. Since the original sin in the Garden of Eden, the world hasn’t been the same place God created as “good.”

Recently, I’ve been thinking about what is wrong in the world and it boils down to one thing: sin. We live in a broken world and that means more than sickness and strife. It means relationships are broken, the physical world is broken, nothing is the way it was created.

At times, this feels strange to me. Since we only know the world in this way, it’s hard to look at a sunset and think, “That’s broken.” Even fallen nature is breathtaking and points to our Creator. But as impossible as it seems, this is not the same “very good” world that God created.

The world seems the most broken in relationships. Over the last few years, I have been hurt, disappointed, and saddened because of people. Some of these relationships are personal; I know the people involved and I see how they’ve changed. I have also seen how people treat others online and often, these commenters don’t know each other. It is one human trashing a stranger because of a comment. Why do people treat others so terribly? Because this world is broken.

As people flee from God and what the Bible calls good, they fall farther into the world’s brokenness. We also have to realize that the world will never be fixed until Jesus returns and eternity begins without sin.

So how do we live with the consequences of this broken place? I believe we need to remember God is omnipotent and still uses us for his purposes. Even in the midst of pain and evil, God gives strength and ability to stand firm. God hasn’t left us in our brokenness. Therefore, we should look to him in our fear and disappointments.

We also should remember that the evil around us will be punished. It might not happen in the way we would plan or execute, maybe not on our timeline, but God sees and takes account. The Bible promises that the wicked will be punished and this world will be made new; good as it was in the beginning.

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Change for a Believer

People have different thoughts on change. Some people relish the opportunity for something new. Others reluctantly go along with it. But change is inevitable. There are many changes we can’t control, like children growing up and seasons continuing on. It doesn’t mean it’s easy but it is predictable.

One positive change comes when we accept Christ as our Savior from our sins. This change is both sudden and slow. Suddenly, we see things differently. Our worldly desires don’t hold the same attraction for us. With the Holy Spirit in our lives, we are reoriented in our thinking, our behavior, and our values. We see the world and the things in this world through the lens of the Gospel.

Why is there evil in the world? Because of sin. Why do people do evil things? Because sin is controlling their lives. Now obviously there is nuance and Christians are still sinners who make mistakes, but our desires and goals are changed because we are changed. We are serving God above ourselves.

But this change doesn’t happen all at once and we never think about it again. We are also gradually being conformed to Christlikeness in a process called sanctification. This process won’t end until we step into eternity. Each day, we have a chance to grow in Christ and learn. We realize new truths about God we didn’t see before. His Word becomes more precious and valuable to us. We relate to people differently. It is a change that is noticeable to those around us and one of the strongest witnesses to bring the lost to Christ.

I have clear examples of people I knew before and after they were saved, and I can see the difference the Holy Spirit has made in them. From gruff and unkind to thoughtful and gentle. These are changes we can’t will or force to happen. They go deeper and change us from the inside. Gradually. But so sweetly.

In Colossians 3, we read that our new self in Christ needs to put off the things of this world and put on the traits of God’s chosen ones (vv5-17). And again, it’s not us willing ourselves to be better. It’s the Holy Spirit guiding, convicting, showing us what we need to change and then helping us live that way.

Romans 12:2 gives us helpful instruction on what this looks like:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

The word translated “transformed” is the Greek word “metamorpho” where we get the English, “metamorphosis.” It’s hard to think of that word and not picture a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. I think it’s one of nature’s most fascinating things. A gross, small, wiggly caterpillar crawling along. A delicate, beautiful butterfly sailing higher than trees. This is what happens when we accept Christ. Just as the life of a caterpillar is completely different when it becomes a butterfly, so do our lives transform when we accept the free gift of salvation.

I’m not a huge fan of change. Some of it is good, a lot of it is hard. But watching a believer grow in faith and discover God is a change I love to see, in others and in myself.

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Goals from a Girl Who Doesn't Make Resolutions

Beginnings are full of promise. Whether it’s a new job, a new week, a new friendship. It feels like anything is possible. Yes, there is some discomfort or uncertainty as we don’t fully know what this new opportunity will become. But given a chance and a little effort, these new things can reap beautiful harvests.

I used to make New Year’s resolutions and choose a word for the year. And those things aren’t bad but usually by March, I had failed in some way. Missed too many days exercising, forgotten the word I picked, life changed what my year priority had been in January. And while I could’ve picked up the pieces and tried again, it somehow still felt like failure.

Last year, I bought a habit tracker — similar to this one — and limited myself to three goals a month that I would try to do daily, two bigger goals I would do weekly, and one cleaning goal for the month. It worked quite a bit better and I was able to “do more” in a sense because each month was a new chance and a new focus.

It also helped me get in the habit of random things, like meal planning, journaling, practicing Greek, etc. that I probably wouldn’t have made resolutions about. Let’s be honest, having a goal of reviewing Greek grammar once a week is a more actionable step than “know Greek better by the end of the year.”

I have also been convicted to demonstrate to my kids things that I expect of them. For instance, if I’m preaching the necessity of practicing an instrument to improve but making excuses for why I never practice my own instrument, I’m not modeling what I’m telling them is important. I might argue that I’ve already taken lessons for over a decade and done my share of practicing in those years, but could I benefit from practicing? Absolutely! I still have the muscle memory but my fingers are a little slower from lack of practice. And I believe it’s good for my kids to see me try new skills and practice things that are important to me.

So with these things in mind, I have complied a list of goals I intend to cycle through in 2026. I won’t have all new goals each month and some of these — like Bible reading — will definitely repeat monthly. But maybe this will give you an idea of something you want to try or learn or improve in and how to implement it without overwhelm this year.

• Bible reading. I printed off a Revive Our Hearts Bible in a year plan. I will also be doing more in depth studies but this is for my daily reading.

• Violin. I might start with a goal of practicing three days a week and another month, practice daily.

• Hand embroidery. My project in 2025 was a failure because I was WAY too ambitious. Starting smaller this year for hopefully better success!

• Watercolor. This is still my favorite relaxing activity because you have to go slow! No rushing possible! Just trying a new technique each week would be a good goal.

• Walking/jumping everyday. On days when it’s cold, I plan to use my Rebounder. Otherwise, a daily walk is a high priority for me.

• Meal planning. Getting into a routine of planning and prepping a week or two of meals. I am also going to try grocery pickup on a regular basis to save time and keep from spontaneous spending.

• Journaling. I plan to continue my daily index card notation from 2025 but I would also like to write a little more at the end of each day. Just bullet points or short sentences in a notebook.

• Greek. This one is hard because it’s a relatively new skill for me. But even reading through the grammar rules and vocabulary or using my interlinear Bible regularly would be beneficial.

• Hospitality. Tommy and I enjoy hosting and the end of this year we couldn’t do much with our house being a construction zone. So a high priority for us is to invite people into our home again.

Of course, I know as the year goes on, I may think of other things and there are things I didn’t put on the list that will naturally fall in, like gardening in the spring and summer, puzzles and reading throughout the year.

As I get older, I think often of a few verses. Ephesians 5:16 says, “Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” In this chapter, Paul has been urging the believers to be imitators of God and not live like the world but rather, to be wise. Part of this wisdom is to use our time well. Setting goals and planning how to achieve them can become time well spent. Another verse that popped up many times this year for me was Proverbs 16:9, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” It is wise and being a good steward to plan but hold that plan with a flexible grip. Plans we make are not always what God has for us. Anything we desire to do should be brought before the Lord and not grasped so tightly that our life is upended when plans or goals change. God is sovereign and we should be grateful for it.

What about you? Are you a goal person, full of resolutions, or maybe choosing a word for 2026? Happy New Year!

The Gift of Christmas

We all have memories and expectations that pop up as Christmas draws near. Maybe it’s a family recipe that only shows up on the table in December. It might be a particular day when decorations are dragged out of basements and attics and closets. Maybe you always look forward to a family tradition.

As each year passes, I become more aware of how special these moments are. Watching my kids get excited as presents slowly pile under the tree. Making the same treats year after year. Pulling out our ornaments and recounting funny memories.

One of my favorite parts of Christmas is, before we start opening presents, we pray and thank God for the previous year and all he’s given us and we recite/read Luke 2 as a family. This small pause in the midst of hurry and excitement helps to refocus on why Christmas matters.

The story of the baby in the manger; it’s not just a feel good, isn’t that amazing event. It’s the climax on God’s redemptive plan for us. For generations, God promised a Savior. Christmas is when we celebrate that Savior coming. Not in pomp and extravagant display, but in humility, like he would live his life.

We exchange gifts to remember the ultimate gift: Jesus offering salvation from our sins and an eternal home in heaven. May this Christmas season remind you of the best and greatest gift.

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God is the Source

Happy Thanksgiving! This is my favorite holiday. I love the food, the season, the emphasis on giving thanks and being with friends and family. I also got engaged right before Thanksgiving…many moons ago. :)

I think for every Thanksgiving that I’ve spent with my parents, after we eat my dad will introduce the same game, whether it’s just family or we’ve invited friends. It’s an alphabet thankfulness game where one person says something to be thankful for starting with ‘A.’ The next person repeats the ‘A’ thing from person one and adds something for ‘B.’ You move through the alphabet until you have something for every letter. ‘X’ can get tricky but it’s fun to see how creative people can be! This repetition forces you to pay attention and stretches those brain muscles after a full meal.

But it’s not just reciting things we’re thankful for; it’s an acknowledgment of Who those things are from: God. At the beginning of each round, you say, “God is the source of all good things and I’m thankful for….”

Gratitude is a characteristic lacking in society today. People believe they are entitled to everything but don’t need to be thankful for anything. As much as independence can be a good trait, when we are so independent as to think the world revolves around us, we forget we are nothing. All things — big and little — come from our gracious Lord. He is the source of everything, and may we take time to truly be thankful.

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Should Christians Criticize Each Other?

One thing that blows my mind is how the Christian community relates to the rest of the Christian community. I don’t understand when I see/read “Christians” who make it their life goal to point out how other Christians are misbehaving and being unChristian.

Yes, I acknowledge that Christians sin and are susceptible to temptation of all kinds. And when we sin, we need to be held accountable so we can repent and be restored. But much of the noise going on among Christians today is not calling out sin but denouncing what one side views as unChristian living; ie living counter to the culture.

I’ve seen so much of this recently, mostly centered around politics, but not exclusively. Some big names in Christianity have been slandering other Christians for things like not “loving your neighbor” because Jesus told us to love others and speaking up on cultural issues isn’t being a loving Christian.

I’m not surprised when the world criticizes Christians because Jesus said that if we follow him, it would bring persecution. But when Christians call out their fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord — not to correct sin but to lambast their thinking on clear biblical principles — we have a problem.

The Bible is full of one another statements and the interesting thing I’ve found that people don’t mention about these statements is that they are in reference to other believers. When the Bible says, “Forgive one another, love one another, confess to one another, don’t judge one another…” these are all in the context of Christians to Christians, NOT unbelievers.

Yes, we are to forgive, love, etc. those who are unsaved but with the purpose of sharing the gospel. There is no mention in the Bible of misleading the unsaved from the truth of their sin so they feel better about themselves. It’s been said, “You have to hear the bad news before the good news makes sense.” If people aren’t told they are sinners in need of a Savior, they won’t care that Jesus came to Earth to save them.

When Christians need to criticize other Christians, there is a standard to follow. We have Matthew 18:15-20 which begins with the words, “If your brother sins…” and some manuscripts have the words “against you” making the sin a personal affront. This isn’t permission to say, “That Christian is talking against an issue I care about! I’m going to call him out!” It is for an actual sin issue, not your pet peeve or a perceived slight.

In the most general sense, if you are criticizing another Christian over a non-sin issue, you are discounting the words of I Thess. 5:11 — “So encourage each other and build each other up…”

But what if you think it is a sin issue? Should you jump online and start blowing off steam? Let’s approach it carefully.

First, check the Bible. Are you misrepresenting a passage and making it say something it doesn’t say? Read the entire context. Who was Jesus talking to and about?

Second, pray about it. What is your motivation for the criticism? Do you actually care to see them restored? Are you jumping on a bandwagon with your two cents? Do you know the person and situation personally? Can you address it in private? Are you shooting your comments at a famous person without knowing the full story?

Third, if you believe you really need to say something, do it kindly. The internet and the world are nasty enough. We shouldn’t be name calling, ranting, or tearing down others. Yes, we can point out error. But we don’t have to be rude about it. We can lovingly, patiently seek to win the erring brother through a generous, gracious answer.

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Homeschool Year 11!!

Here we are, starting our eleventh year homeschooling! I started with preschool for my oldest and now she is entering high school and we’ve added two more children. It truly is wild.

Each year is different as kids get older and are able to do more. And I always try to listen to what they want to learn about and things they want to change up. No two years look exactly the same.

With a high schooler now, I am being more diligent with keeping track of her grades for transcript purposes. I’m thankful we live in a state that is friendly to homeschoolers and easy to find graduation requirements. I’m very impressed with the work she is accomplishing this year. One of the biggest changes is taking American History in our Co-Op, using the Hillsdale College curriculum. It is a lot of reading! She is also diagramming maps, creating timelines, and reading papers written by the founding fathers. Denison Algebra continues to be a hit and one of the best discoveries for this non math mom. She chose astronomy for her science credit and I’ve been thrilled with the MasterBooks curriculum on that subject.

I didn’t change things up too much with my sixth grader. He is still doing Teaching Textbooks for math, although at his request, I am printing off the homework pages instead of him doing them on the computer. He is studying ancient civilizations for history and it has been completely new territory for him. The hardest part is how to pronounce all those names!! He has really gotten into creative writing this semester and has started writing short adventure stories. It has helped with punctuation and my one rule is no AI help!

My youngest is in second grade and I’m still quite hands-on with her. I read history and science to her and she likes it when I watch her do her phonics work to make sure she understands it. Of all three kids, she enjoys breaks the most, even though it prolongs her school day. So we will often tackle two subjects, play a little or have a snack, and continue on.

I’m very thankful for our schoolroom that allows the kids to have their own desks, all the books in one place, educational games and craft supplies stored nearby, and tucked away so when school is done, we aren’t looking at the mess. Being able to homeschool my kids is something I don’t take for granted and something I truly enjoy doing.

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What Migraines Taught Me

Warning: this is a longer post! It’s also one of the more personal posts I’ve written. I don’t post this to gloat in how much I’ve been through or make people feel sorry for me. I wanted to share this as an encouragement, that even in the midst of years of hard, there is always God who loves us and knows us better than we know ourselves. Nothing is wasted or pointless. God is good.

I have a vivid memory of being about 9 years old and having my first migraine. We were at Sunday evening service and my head was pounding. It was so bad, I went into a classroom during the service and crawled under a table to escape every shred of light. I laid there, curled up, until it was time to go home.

That was the first headache memory I have but it wasn’t the last. As I got older, I started reading more and I would often get headaches so I started wearing reading glasses, which helped some.

Moving into high school, life got stressful. I started attending a private school after being homeschooled, which meant spending all day in classrooms, reading from the blackboard or projector, and carrying lots of books. My sophomore year of high school was rough. But I found great friends, settled into a routine, and life continued, including my headaches.

By the time I was in college, I was resigned to the fact that headaches were part of who I was. Nothing seemed to keep them away and getting a headache every afternoon became my normal. I would swallow a few Tylenol between classes and keep going. I became very good at doing what I needed to do, even with a pounding headache. I figured if this was my life, I wasn’t going to miss out on things. I would simply keep going over the pain until I could crash at night.

Interviewing for the school newspaper, rehearsing for and performing in a musical, presentations, speeches, concerts, church. I had headaches/migraines for it all. Granted, I wasn’t taking the best care of myself. I would have to skip lunch for class sometimes, water bottles weren’t an accessory during this time in history so I probably wasn’t drinking as much water as I should. But on the days when I was at home — when I ate three meals a day and had easy access to water — I still got headaches, just less intense. They seemed inevitable.

Years passed, I graduated from college, I got married, I started working full time. During this time, my mom read that certain preservatives can cause migraines, and it proved true for me when one Sunday, I ate honey baked ham and within the hour found myself on the couch in pain. I hoped by cutting out ham, bacon, and anything with sodium nitrate/nitrite my headaches would become manageable. It helped some, but I still spent several days each week with headaches.

At this time, I also visited a neurologist for the first time. He listened none too patiently, prescribed a rescue medicine, and that was it. When I had extreme reactions to the medicine — like passing out and breaking into hives — I decided I’d stick to Tylenol and Ibuprofen. Going to the chiropractor offered no help and I actually felt worse because I would have such throbbing migraines every time I left his office.

It seemed like I had reached the end of all I could do. I started praying for the ability to live with the pain rather than for God to take it away. I’ve always believed that God answers prayers, but not always the way we picture. Sometimes healing in this life doesn’t happen and although it was a hard truth to accept, I decided I was done trying to get away from my migraines and I would learn to manage them and see how God would sustain me.

From my mid 20s to my late 30s, I developed a routine. I learned how severe my headache could get before I really needed pain medicine. I found rubbing peppermint oil on my temples and neck dulled the throbbing. I bought a headache hat {a spandex hat with ice packs sewn in that keeps cold pressure on your temples and neck} and it became the visual cue for my family for how bad I was feeling. I took supplements, electrolytes, cut back on caffeine, and limited how long I was in direct sun when I could.

But when I turned 40, things started changing. My pain was different; it moved from my temples to my jaw and at times it hurt to chew. My bad migraines started lasting longer and I had more days of staying in bed. I would drag myself to the schoolroom, do schoolwork with the kids for a few hours, usually with headache hat on, then crawl back to bed for the afternoon and evening.

My total undoing was my kids. I would lie in bed and hear them reminding each other to be quiet. I would feel them come in and leave a mug of hot tea by the bed, give a quick hug, and rush out. We canceled playdates and delayed planned activities. When we went to the zoo or on a hike, I would come home depleted. Migraines were becoming harder to live with. They had been part of my life for three decades but as my kids got older, I hated having to step out of things and change plans because of my pain. They never said it, but I know they experienced disappointments.

I wrestled with going to a neurologist. Was it unfaithful of me to seek an answer? I thought God’s answer to my prayer for relief had come years before, but would he answer in a different way now? And I had tried so many things. Was it worth circling back and trying again, since my pain had changed? At my regular doctor’s appointment, I mentioned how my migraines were changing and she urged me to see a neurologist. The soonest appointment was six months away so I waited and prayed and continued on.

When the neurologist started asking me questions, I couldn’t keep from crying. The reality of all those years of pain, of missing out on things, of acting like everything was great while my head was swimming came pouring out. He was concerned at the frequency of my headaches and how much they were controlling my day to day life. After various tests, questions, and an MRI, we ruled out anything major and I was put on a beta blocker.

After my previous reaction to medicine, I was skeptical but I kept praying, and I had so many friends and family praying also. Our busy summer began and about two months after I started the prescription, Tommy asked, “When was the last time you took Tylenol?” I looked at him, bewildered. “I don’t remember.” I thought back and I suddenly realized I had been free of head pain. Not just bad migraines, but my daily headaches were gone! Friends at church noticed my eyes weren’t glazed over in pain all the time. My kids noticed I didn’t need to retreat to a dark room constantly.

There are still a few things that can trigger my headaches. Barometric pressure changes and fluctuating hormones are still problems but those are not constant or often, and the pain is usually controllable. For the first summer I can remember, I’ve been able to go on walks, help with VBS, and work in the garden without headaches. I get my work done and still feel well enough to run errands or play with my kids. It has been lifechanging.

Does this mean my three decades of pain was wasted? That my life wasn’t all it could have been? No, I don’t think so. As much as I wanted the pain gone and as grateful as I am to have relief now, I learned so much in the suffering. I saw God helping me when I genuinely had no physical or mental strength myself. Allowing me to still teach my kids, giving me Tommy who would come home and fix dinner when I was in bed, having my parents close to watch kids when needed. I came to the end of myself many times but God’s grace proved to be greater and his strength was evident in my weakness.

God also brought some wonderful encouragers into my life. My sister in law takes special notice of my pain levels since she suffers from migraines also, friends pray for me and send me notes of encouragement, my family provides preservative free eating options at our gatherings. I have learned we need to be in community with Christians and be honest about our struggles. If we suffer alone, we won’t have anyone who knows we need support. We will miss out on the blessing of letting others help us.

The last thing I’ve noticed is how my kids have responded. I always felt guilty that my pain was keeping them from a full childhood. Instead, I’ve seen how caring and thoughtful they can be. I remember when my youngest was a toddler, and I would lie on the floor with my eyes closed while the older siblings kept her occupied nearby. Times they’ve asked what they can get me so I don’t have to get up. Moving schoolwork onto my bed so they can read without me sitting up. When my son got a headache once, he asked, “Is this how you always feel?” and gave me a big hug.

I have no guarantee that the beta blocker is a long term solution but I’m thankful for the way it’s currently helping. I know people take it for years with positive results. For now, I praise God for the unexpected ways he answers prayers, for the grace I know he gives in whatever happens next, and for the ability to look back on how he has sustained me.

Photo by 85GB photo on Unsplash

Our Refuge

“I just wish the world was safe again.”

The thought came suddenly but was dispelled just as fast. When has the world ever been safe?

We were vacationing in Florida when the news of October 7 hit. It seemed a paradox that we were jumping in beach waves and relaxing by the pool while somewhere else in the world families were being torn apart with bullets and kidnapping.

I sat on the porch after watching small clips of the news — about all I could take — and read a few Psalms. Psalm 61 stood out in the midst of everything and I read it multiple times.

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. Of David.

1Hear my cry, O God,
listen to my prayer;
2from the end of the earth I call to you
when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
that is higher than I,
3for you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the enemy.

4Let me dwell in your tent forever!
Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah
5For you, O God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

6Prolong the life of the king;
may his years endure to all generations!
7May he be enthroned forever before God;
appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!

8So will I ever sing praises to your name,
as I perform my vows day after day.

Verse four caught my attention with the lovely picture of the nearness and protection of God. To dwell goes along with word abiding and in his tent refers to the tabernacle, the very presence of God. This God who created everything protects us as a mother bird spreads her wings over her chicks. We have a safe refuge because of his watchful care.

This doesn’t mean the world ceases to be a frightening, unsafe place or that we never face trials and heartache. But in moments of anxiety, when chaos and fear seem to be winning, we can run to the Rock of our Salvation. We can find peace and hope beneath his comfort and care.

The world will never be safe or without trouble as long as sin is here. But we know this temporal place isn’t the end. It isn’t our hope or best life. We live for eternity where we will dwell with God forever.

Photo by Dulcey Lima on Unsplash

Craving Influence

I’ve recently read several things about friendship and influencing others. We tend to have the idea of big, grand gestures but what if true influence is more about small, quiet moments of simply showing up when needed?

Last Christmas was quite different from past ones. My family joked that it was the Christmas of the influencer. Without intending to, the opening of most of the presents I received or gave were followed with, “So I watched a lady on YouTube…” or “This ad popped up on Instagram…”

I wasn’t looking to have an Influencer Christmas or trying to buy only things I had seen advertised on social media. But it suddenly became clear that many of the items I had added to my wish list or cart were there purely at the recommendation of someone I didn’t know personally but had seen on the Internet.

There isn’t anything necessarily wrong with this. But it does show how easily we can be swayed by others and how quickly we follow advice when it sounds credible.

Influence is a powerful thing. Nowadays, anyone can become an “influencer” for good or bad. Most of the time, we think of influencers as telling us which Amazon clothes are the best, what deals will hit on Black Friday, or maybe the newest life hack. But influence is so much more. It’s encouraging people to think, act, live a certain way, to hold sway over what a person believes is normal or acceptable. I would say that most cultural influencers have no business speaking into the lives of others.

But that’s part of the problem. We choose who influences us. It’s not a passive act, like we might want to think. We decide who to listen to and whose advice to take. We continue to watch the channels and listen to the podcasts and share the viral hacks. And with every choice, we are demonstrating what is important and valuable to us. Who or what holds sway over our decisions.

I have noticed that in this noisy, busy world of everyone connected all the time via the Internet, what most people crave isn’t someone else to listen to but someone to show interest in them. We are a self-centered, narcissistic society and sometimes, the reason we latch onto someone and start listening is because we believe they are authentic, relatable, and similar to us.

And we might even value the role of influencer ourselves. It makes us feel good to know people are listening to our opinion, advice, and commentary. But we don’t need to have thousands of followers or hundreds of clicks to influence someone, for good or evil. Look around. The people you see everyday — whether at work or home — are influenced by your decisions, values, and attitude.

We don’t need to make money at it to influence someone. It’s in small things; listening to a grieving friend, putting your phone aside while your children talk about their day, remembering a neighbor’s birthday with a bunch of flowers, checking in with a friend over text, laughing with your family over a special memory.

Each of these little moments show who we are prioritizing and speak volumes more than all the ads on Facebook. Stop and consider your corners of influence. Ask who you are allowing to influence you. And never take small moments for granted.

Photo by Mats Havia on Unsplash

Everyday Beauty

We are becoming a people harder and harder to please. Because we are saturated with ideas, information, and images from across the world, we expect things on demand.

High speed Internet, food delivery, buy online. Even our art and architecture has suffered. Speed is the great factor. How fast can I shed these pounds, clean the house, listen to a book? We think speed means we will get more accomplished and that is the sign of success. No matter that the work isn’t done well, that we don’t put our best effort forth trying to get through all the things. Who has time for beauty in a go, go, go world?

I would argue that we need moments of beauty. Something to turn our gaze on and marvel at, both the talent of the craftsmen and the work itself. Of all the things God created, humans are the only ones he gave the ability to create and enjoy the creation. We alone can recognize the unique work put into the Taj Mahal or St. Paul’s Cathedral. We can wonder at the skill displayed in the Sistine Chapel ceiling or the sculptures of DaVinci. We can stare at the changing colors of a sunset or the grandeur of mountains and realize how small we are.

Perfection isn’t listed in the definition of beauty. The dictionary defines beauty as being pleasing to the mind or senses. Often something is beautiful despite its imperfection, like a tree with oddly angling limbs.

We define many things as beautiful — people, art, words, things — but we don’t all see beauty the same way. For some people, it takes a great talent and larger than life effort. For others beauty equals flawlessness, perfection. But whatever we choose to call “beautiful,” I’m afraid it’s becoming more rare. In part because, as mentioned above, we have become too busy to notice or appreciate it. And we are too busy to create it.

Beauty shouldn’t have to be extreme for us to appreciate. Beauty can be found in simple things. Birds flocking to a feeder, children playing a game, sunlight dancing off piles of snow. The challenge is to look around and notice it. Imagine someone walking through the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles Palace and only noticing the flaws in her own reflection in all the mirrors instead of the room and mirrors themselves. We would think she’s ridiculous!

But going through our day gloomy, downcast, and negative when we are surrounded by creation is just as ridiculous. Or talking ourselves out of creative pursuits because we aren’t as talented as someone else, instead of grabbing a brush or pen or needle and thread and just trying!

Photo by Paige Cody on Unsplash

Jesus Died for...All

My kids and I went to see The King of Kings movie this week. I didn’t know much about it except for reading one review. The premise is Charles Dickens {yes, the novelist} wants to teach his son about the greatest King who ever lived. So he tells the story of Jesus, from birth to resurrection. As he hears the story, the boy “lives” the scenes his father is describing, trying to warn the family that Herod is killing babies, showing Mary that Jesus is teaching in the temple, etc.

At first, the intrusion into the biblical narrative of a Victorian dressed boy and his cat was a little jarring. But as the boy “experiences” miracles, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the crucifixion, the movie watcher is also welcomed into the narrative; maybe to experience these Bible events in a fresh way.

While this post is not an endorsement for the film {it does have some biblical inaccuracies}, it did make me consider a few things through a new lens. And that’s the lens of people — the individuals who lived what we are prone to breeze through in our Bible reading.

The scenes portrayed are ones I knew in an instant: the blind man healed, the paralytic lowered through the roof, Jesus walking on water and feeding thousands. But thinking what it would have been like to experience them in person made me pause. Especially in one scene: when the woman caught in adultery is brought to Jesus.

In the movie, you see the crowd grabbing rocks, yelling it is lawful to stone her for her sin, the Pharisees smirking, the woman crying. Jesus stands from writing in the dirt and simply says, “Let the person who has never sinned throw the first stone.” In the movie, he looks around as the angry faces in the crowd turn to surprise, confusion, guilt. Hands lower, rocks fall to the ground, and everyone walks away.

That realization that we have all sinned. That there is no ranking in God’s eyes. Sin separates us from the perfectly holy God. Lying is a sin just as pride is, just as adultery is, just as murder is, just as idolatry is. We have no merit or goodness on our own. And that is why Jesus came. For all sinners, because we need a Savior.

It’s hard to believe I need to say this…but that person you disagree with politically is saved by the same sacrifice of Jesus that saved you. Those family members who don’t follow the same life rules you do, Jesus died for their sins when he died for yours. Salvation isn’t limited to who we think deserves it. It’s an open invitation that every person has to choose to accept but that God freely offers to all.

If you are trying to do good works, be a better person, reach God on your own merit, please stop. Jesus died for you. Maybe you don’t feel worthy of his sacrifice. Maybe you’ve rejected him in the past. Come now. Repent of your sins, ask Jesus to save you, admit you are a sinner in desperate need of a Savior. Meet the King of Kings at the foot of the cross.

Photo by Duncan Sanchez on Unsplash

How We Change

Change is inevitable.

Nothing stays the same for long. Where I live, we are currently inching from winter to spring. Snow is on the mountains, trees are starting to bud out, the temperature climbs a little more each day.

I look at my kids and I see change. My teenager is suddenly looking me in the eye, excited to pass me up in height this year. My 11 year old is growing more confident, my first grader is trying to read more. Nothing can stop the change.

In life, we change; I look back at who I was 16 years ago when we moved to Utah and I’m thankful parts of me have changed. Motherhood, ministry, experiences, walking with friends through hard things. All that continues to work through me and I’m {prayerfully} being changed to be more like Christ.

But how do we look at things in our lives and know if a shift is necessary?

We are told many places in the New Testament that there is an “old man” and a “new man” for those who trust Christ. The old represents who we were in sin, living for ourselves. The new is who God has changed us to be and is currently sanctifying through the rest of our Christian walk.

We know we will change after salvation because our desires and habits are transformed. We are no longer given over to worldly things but our desire is to pursue Christ. We want what God wants, we mourn over things that grieve him, we view our lives as made for God’s glory.

However, this reality of being transformed has limits. Over the last several years, I’ve heard of Christians deconstructing their faith and many times, it leads to them completely abandoning their faith for secularism. We also have bitterness and anger changing people after a tragedy or unexpected situation. I would argue change is not always good or helpful.

So how can we know we’re changing in a good way?

First, we need to honestly ask if in our change we are moving away from God or closer to him. Questions aren’t bad but we need to be going to the correct place to find the answers.

Which leads to the second point. We need to stay in our Bibles. I’ve heard many deconstructionists say that in their attempt to get a fuller picture of the truth they turned to secular sources. This is not how we find out about God or truth. The world is at odds with its Creator. If we ask an atheist about God, we’re going to get a warped view of who God is. That will not help us change in a beneficial way.

The Christian life shouldn’t be stagnant. Sometimes in our questions and experiences, we might falter as we walk through difficult valleys. But don’t stay there! Don’t turn around and abandon the path. May we keep our eyes on Christ and pray that everyday, we are changing to be more like him.

Slowing Down for Beauty

When you think of beauty, what pops in your mind?

Maybe a flawless face, a certain piece of music, a rose. Beauty can be seen in many different ways and different people appreciate different applications of beauty. But all beauty is appreciated more with time and attention.

When we see something beautiful we want to stop and consider it, look closer. It’s sometimes difficult to put into words why something strikes us. Other times we immediately put our finger on why we call it beautiful. But to fully savor the thing or moment or experience, we have to slow down and give our attention.

The reality of this fully took form when Tommy and I went to Paris last year. We were able to experience amazing food, incredible historical sites, and surround ourselves in completely new things at every turn. One of the top things on my list of “want to dos” when we were planning our trip was to visit Musee de l’Orangerie {Orangery Museum} where the famous Waterlily paintings by Monet are.

I don’t know exactly when I started loving them, but Impressionist paintings are my favorite style and Paris museums are filled with Monet, Degas, Renoir, and a host of others. But l’Orangerie is especially magnificent because Monet himself worked on the plan to renovate the building, planning how his studies of the waterlilies from his garden pond would look on display. The panels are over two yards tall and when put together are almost 100 yards wide. Stretching in ovals around two rooms, there really is nothing like it.

The immensity of the paintings hits you, especially when you’ve only seen them in books. While the paintings weren’t the tallest or the most detailed paintings we saw, the scale of them arching around the room, the calming colors set off by stark white walls, and the quiet as visitors took them in was beautiful.

But while Tommy and I stood in the middle of the room and I attempted to etch every color and detail into my memory, other tourists were there for an entirely different reason. They stood at the painting, back toward the masterpiece, and smiled for a friend to capture the moment on camera. Picture secure, they headed to the next room, some of them spending less than a minute before Monet’s 30 years of work.

Can you appreciate the beauty of the thing and the experience in such a blink? You certainly can’t capture the whole painting or the feeling in a snapshot. These were not beauty seekers. They were focused on the adage, “If I have a picture of it, it happened.” Or maybe, “If I post it on social media, it happened.” We saw similar tourists at Versailles, the Louvre, even restaurants. So absorbed in their phones, their pictures, their posts that they didn’t care about what surrounded them.

What a waste of beauty! Maybe you believe they took those photos and look at them and reflect on what they saw now, months after the trip. But I doubt it. If you can’t appreciate beauty when you are in the moment, will you ever have time to look back? And it won’t be the same.

Sunsets are my favorite. I love the splash of color that is ever changing. No two sunsets are the same; the temperature, the air quality, the position of the sun makes each one a unique painting from God. And try as I might, a picture of a spectacular sunset is never the same as watching it happen in real time. Same with rainbows. Pictures never seem to capture the colors, the expanse, the shimmer of a rainbow. To fully enjoy them, we must slow down and look right then! So it is with all beauty.

Our society seems to be based on a breakneck pace. Do more, faster! Be more productive in less time! These types of attitudes don’t go well with savoring experiences, looking for beauty, and enjoying what’s in front of you. The thought something better is just after this moment keeps us from finding contentment where we are and slowing down. We think if we slow down we’ll miss something but the truth is, in our race to the next thing, we’re missing hundreds of beautiful things and moments.

Don’t stand with your back to the masterpiece and rush to the next photo op. Look around, enjoy the moment now, while it’s here, and you might be surprised that you can find beauty in so many things.

Photo by Richard Hedrick on Unsplash

Why Work Matters

The beginning of the year is filled with resolutions and new ideas and entire lists of wishes.

It is also filled with work. Cleaning up after Christmas decorating and parties. Decluttering. Maybe scrubbing germs away from a sickness. Work fills our lives, not only in January but throughout the year.

It can be easy to just plow through the work; much of it is necessary. Cleaning, laundry, cooking, learning. All these things are needed but that doesn’t mean that it’s always fun or easy.

One of the conversations I have with my kids is in the realm of their schoolwork. They wonder why it’s important, why it matters, why they can’t just do it fast and be done. I have one child who would be willing to do a year’s worth of science assignments in a week and be done with science for the year. But that’s not helpful. Often work is slow, takes perseverance, needs focus and continual effort.

Many people in today’s society believe that work is bad; some Christians might even consider it part of the fall. However, in Gen. 2:15, we see that the LORD gave Adam the responsibility to keep and cultivate the garden before sin entered the world. We also see Adam naming all the animals in verses 19-20 {which seems like a huge job to me!}.

So if work isn’t inherently sinful, how should we approach it? Well, again, the Bible gives us a guideline. The book of Proverbs alone has almost a dozen references to work. Here are a few —

• Our work will return to us {12:14}

• Work leads to profit {14:23}

• Being lazy will have consequences {18:9}

• Our work will be noticed {22:29}

The New Testament mentions the heart motive behind our work: Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. {I Cor. 10:31} This verse doesn’t put stipulations on what type of work is valuable but rather EVERYTHING we do should be for God’s glory. Meaning putting forth our best effort because God is the one who gives us the ability for it all.

I don’t believe we can effectively glorify or accurately represent God when we do things grumbling, upset, or half hearted. Yes, the work might be hard but hard doesn’t equal sinful, bad, or wrong. Hard exists because of the curse of sin {Gen. 3:17-19} but it doesn’t mean hard things are bad. I appreciate the wisdom of Abbie Halberstadt, a homeschooling, podcasting mom and author, who wrote a book titled, “Hard is Not the Same Thing as Bad” {I encourage you to read it}.

We have this mindset that difficulties should be avoided. Work that is too hard, too strenuous, too time consuming isn’t worth doing at all or can be done begrudgingly because it’s bad. That’s not the truth from the Bible. We can learn valuable lessons from doing hard things. We can discover that we actually enjoy the challenge in some tasks.

I remind my kids — and myself — that trying new things is hard but it is necessary. We shouldn’t complain or give up when we attempt work that is hard and we don’t immediately succeed. That’s part of the learning and growing process! Despite what you might have heard, nothing is easy for anyone the first time. Musicians, craftsmen, athletes, teachers, everyone has to work to improve to the point they are at. They might naturally have good hand/eye coordination but they have to practice to gain the accuracy to make the shot. They might have good pitch naturally but they have to learn to read music and play with musicality.

It’s all work. Plain, honest hard work. And it’s worth doing because we can glorify our Creator through our efforts and attitude.

Photo by Raphael Rychetsky on Unsplash

The Value of Children

As the year comes to a close, I like to look back and consider things I learned, what stood out as important, and use it as a framework for the coming year. Two things stood out to me in 2024; I’ll address one here and one in this post.

A theme culturally in 2024 that struck me was children. Slowly but surely the dialogue about and the treatment of children is becoming hostile. Starting with abortion and throughout childhood, children are being targeted in so many ways, and sometimes by those who should be protecting them: their own parents.

When we talk about protecting children, we automatically think of their physical safety. With the acceptance of abortion and the trans movement, along with people turning a blind eye to human trafficking, considering the literal, physical safety of children is indeed important.

But we often shove a facet of caring for children aside. That is their value and emotional health. I’m afraid the worldly, everyone’s a winner mentality has caused many Christians to shift to the other extreme of just grow up and get over it. I believe there is a balance to be had.

We can encourage and cheer on our children, be proud of their efforts and accomplishments, and let them know they matter to God without making an idol of them. We were all children at one point and I think we can all remember a time we were bullied, made fun of, embarrassed, etc. and we shouldn’t purposefully do those things to our children as payback for our own experiences.

I saw a disturbing trend on social media that was labeled as “Watch my child react while I…” and the videos were parents filming themselves cracking eggs on kids’ heads, throwing flour at them, lying about going to Disneyland and recording how their children reacted for the purpose of posting on social media and getting likes. These are the same parents who no doubt will complain that their kids no longer speak to them once they reach High School.

If we want good relationships with our teen/adult children, we need to cultivate that in our toddler/elementary age children. This means not purposefully embarrassing them, making fun of them, posting their failures. We need to remember that those toddlers will grow up and they will use how they were treated as a guide for how to treat others.

Those of us posting as parents now didn’t grow up with parents on social media. Imagine your parents filming your disappointments, chronicling your attitude issues for a host of strangers online.

Another disturbing trend is the crashing birth rate, not only in the US but throughout Europe as well. I acknowledge that some couples want children and physical reasons keep them childless. But the majority of young people today are choosing to not have children for financial, selfish, and career pursuits. Children are no longer a joy; they are an inconvenience, an obstacle to getting more from life.

But I argue that there is a certain joy found only in children. Watching children learn new skills, try hard things, enjoy creation. One of the things that brings tears to my eyes the most is watching my children take in new experiences. Laughing, exploring, learning, seeing the world through their perspective and innocence.

Children should be treasured and wanted, at every age.

Photo by Josue Michel on Unsplash

The Value of Beauty

As the year comes to a close, I like to look back and consider things I learned, what stood out as important, and use it as a framework for the coming year. Two things stood out to me in 2024; I’ll address one here and one in this post.

I am somewhere between minimalist and hoarder.

While I don’t love little trinkets and figures displayed on shelves that will need to be dusted on rotation, I also don’t love the sparceness of nothing. The empty walls and shelves half filled with books, spine facing in {seriously, who started that trend and can we please stop?!}.

I am also sentimental so keeping things is important to me too. The few things I have on display are from special people or certain times in my life. The minimal clutter they cause is worth it to me because of the memory associated with it.

And in those simple things — memories, experiences, creation — we can find beauty. There’s many different definitions of what is beautiful or what makes something beautiful. And we pair that adjective with many different things: nature, architecture, music, people, food. When we use “beautiful” to describe something we are, in a way, assigning value to it. That walk at sunset was worth it or is worth remembering because of it’s beauty.

I’m afraid sometimes in our modern desire for minimalism, we leave beauty in the dust. Our buildings are built to be efficient, not to inspire wonder. Our furnishings and fashions are designed according to trends, not for beauty.

On our trip to France, I was astounded at the beauty everywhere we looked. The gardens were designed with precision, the stained glass in the churches told stories, the columns of buildings were perfect down to the smallest detail. Even something like a staircase, practical and needed, was carved with intricate designs. I appreciated many things about that trip but the need to slow down to really see everything taught me a lesson about beauty. It’s not something to be rushed by or glanced at. Beauty is to be savored.

Our drive to minimalism and the rush to do everything has kept us from the joy of beauty. We are in too big a hurry to slow down and appreciate what we see and experience. We discard the old for the sleek minimalism of new. Sure, we still use “beautiful” to describe things but is it a hasty use of the word because we can’t stop to think of anything else to say? When did we last pause to consider the true beauty of something?

Whether in God’s creation or something man has made with the talents God gave, beauty in its many forms should make us delay in our rush. We should linger in front of that painting and consider the brushstrokes, we should reread that sentence of perfectly melded words, we should put our fork down between bites and savor our meal.

God could have given us a world in gray tones and beige. Yet he filled it with beauty; he gave us the ability to design and appreciate it. The senses to experience beauty in multiple ways. What a gift!

Photo by JOHN TOWNER on Unsplash

The Small Gift of Gratitude

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Yes, I love the food and time with family and football games. But I especially love the focus on stopping and being grateful.

Gratitude is one of the simplest joys you can add to your life. It doesn’t cost a thing — except maybe your pride — and truly adds to your life. Studies have shown grateful people are more happy and more optimistic. And it’s a nice change to be looking outward in our selfish culture. Unfortunately, sometimes we miss the joy of gratitude because we’re focused on the wrong things.

When we think about what we are thankful for, we tend to think of big picture things: health, a new house, a promotion, etc. And while those are definitely things to be thankful for, if don’t experience any “big” moments in our year, we can overlook some incredible small blessings if we aren’t careful.

My kids are wonderful at pointing me to the small blessings, even if they don’t realize it. They see the world through a different lens than I do and their perspective can be refreshing. My daughter was noticing the clouds move through the sky today and remarked how they looked like God was pushing them along. I love that. God being sovereign over His creation, moving the clouds that will create the storms that will bring the rain and snow we need. Small blessing.

My oldest daughter made a purse and I asked if she was keeping it or gifting it. “I’m giving it to a friend,” she replied. I’m so thankful my kids have friends that are good influences, kind, helpful, fun, and encouraging. None of them are perfect, but they are all working and learning and growing together in Christ. Small blessing.

I could go on…pink sunsets, the heater under my desk, music, birds at my feeder, books, sweet memories with friends, laughter, the smell of cinnamon, bread fresh from the oven, snow.

It really doesn’t take long before our gratitude stretches across pages. But only if we have eyes open to appreciate the simplest, smallest of things.

I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving and may gratitude become a way of life.

Photo by Stephanie Klepacki on Unsplash