Does this crisis feel like we’re in the middle of the unknown? 

From the corner of my eye, I caught my daughter dancing in the kitchen as she puts away dishes. She’s leaping and sliding across the floor with glasses, and plates, and silverware.  With headphones on, she is unaware she has an audience. I see her take a deep breath, filling her lungs with air just before she belts out:  “Into the Unknown, Into the Unknown, Oh-oh-oh-oh, into the unknown.”  She spins and stops with huge eyes locked on me questioning how long I’d been watching. Then, she bows.  Oh, that kid.

“Into the Unknown” is the song from Disney’s new Frozen 2. We find Elsa standing in the darkness, it is beckoning her to step into the unknown, towards something that is calling her. 

She must face her fears. 

She must trust she will be ok.

The unknown will answer questions of her identity

The unknown holds her destiny only if...

Robbed. We'd been robbed. Or at least that's what it felt like to me. Our Virginia house had been on the market for longer than it should have been and we'd had no offers. Then, finally one came and the buyer wanted all my curtains and the appliances in our basement kitchen. The listing had clearly said these didn't convey. I had plans for those draperies in my new house, my Colorado house. And in my heart I'd already given those appliances to a family who needed them. She couldn't have them. What was the most irritating was she wanted the wrought-iron bench in my front yard. The bench was a gift in remembrance of my dad. That sent me over the edge. I dug my heels in. I didn't want to budge. 

It is silly really, but it was my reality and feelings aren't always reasonable. The pending cross country move and looming uprooting from family and friends was already so painful. Now this, this was taking even more from me. I was grieving, losing a big piece of myself in...

When I lost my job, it was devastating on us. 60% of my family’s income just disappeared. POOF! It was the biggest trial my life, my marriage and my family had ever faced. Maybe for you it wasn’t a job loss, maybe it was something else. We are all hit by circumstances that send us into a tailspin.  You can get control back. You can bring order to the chaos. And you are already equipped to do it. 

Hebrews 13:21 says “God has equipped us with everything we need. Your trial did not surprise God, and mine didn’t either. He has already equipped us with what we need to win. Scripture says 3x he trains my hands for battle. How encouraging. God not only saw this coming, he made sure we were ready.

How are we ready? Here's how.  

In Ephesians (6:16) Paul tells us to, “take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Whatever the enemy fires at us can...

I can get all mouthy to my circumstances. How about you?  

Thursday. Thursday is a big day. Thursday answers THE question. The question that sounds like fingers down a chalkboard, “what’s for dinner?” The question that heaps guilt, and shame, and downright nags when after a long day at work I realize: I need to feed my people.

Thursday brings freedom. Thursday is the day a blue box shows up and puts dinner FOR THE NEXT FOUR DAYS on the porch. Thursday is the day this working mama delegates her shopping to an apron app on her phone and puts a checkmark on her to-do list. Thursday is the day she keeps in control of her chaotic schedule.

Thursday also brings deliverance. Thursday is the day the voices saying, “I am not a good enough mom” are liars. Thursday is the day I’m reminded of the truth that I am a good mom, I am enough, I’ve got it together and I’m doing just fine. And it’s ok if working full time and putting food on the table using a food delivery service is what this season of...

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, not because of all the food, but because it's a time of year we put a dedicated focus on being grateful. What if we embraced gratitude year-round, what would it look like.

This week I shared a Facebook Live on how to be grateful by giving others words of affirmation. Check it out: Expressing Gratitude

To jump start your thinking I’ve composed a list of Ten Ways to Be Grateful Year-round.

1. Journal it - Keep a thankfulness journal and aim to write 10 things you’re grateful for each day. I learned this from Ann Voscamp’s 1000 Gifts as she shares her journey of how this simple journal changed her entire outlook on life.
2. Share it - Go around the table during meal times each sharing something their thankful for that day.
3. Store it - Write each of your blessings on a slip of paper, put it in a “blessing” jar, pull them out and read them each Thanksgiving. Continue to add year after year.
4. See it - Design a calendar...

I remember meeting a colleague for lunch, “I’ve got to get out of here, I’m suffocating” I said through desperate tears. “The environment is sucking the life out of me.” Workplace drama and an unhealthy environment had taken it’s toll. 

There have been a few times in my life where I was in toxic environments, both personally and professionally. Whether it was roommates, colleagues or bosses the environment was emotionally draining. Author Dr Swenson says “To be healthy, we require margin in …emotional energy,” for “when we are emotionally resilient, we can confront our problems with a sense of hope and power. When our emotional reserves are depleted, however, we are seriously weakened.” Have you ever felt seriously weakened? Depleted emotionally?

There’s hope, here are 5 Ways to Get Emotional Margin*:

Envision a better future: Imagining life better in the future is a huge key to making it reality....