Purposeful Living
Creative ideas for enjoying your family in all seasons of the year, including spending time in nature, creative ways to celebrate holidays, and ways to teach your children the art of hospitality.
-
Less Stress and More Peace: A Secret to Help You!
We have a special gift for you. Every Friday in December, 12-year-old Bekah and I will be sharing a devotion with you. These Friday posts are adapted from our mother-daughter devotional book, Girl to Girl. We wrote the book with a vision for moms and daughters to read each devotion together, but we invite you to join us even if you aren’t a mother or daughter! We hope to help you have less stress and more peace with today’s post! Let’s get to it! How to Have Less Stress and More Peace And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord…
-
15 Bible Verses for Mothers and Daughters
Are you a mother or daughter in search of wisdom and guidance in your mother-daughter relationship? Today, I invite you to join me as we open God’s Word in search of encouraging Bible verses for mothers and daughters of all ages. Bible Verses for Mothers and Daughters Our first child was born on a dark Tuesday night. Throughout the pregnancy, I earnestly believed I was pregnant with a boy. We waited to discover the gender of the mysterious person growing within me at birth. Much to my surprise and delight, when our little one emerged into the world, the doctor declared, “You have a daughter!” I immediately knew God had…
-
7 Gifts for Christian Moms This Christmas
Last week, I took the kids shopping with hopes to find the perfect gifts for their grandparents. We spent at least ten minutes perusing the women’s clothing department and giggling as we imagined Grandma wearing the silly Christmas sweaters and tie-dyed smocks hanging on the racks. “Can you imagine Grandma wearing this?” twelve-year-old Bekah kept giggling. We didn’t do much better in the kitchen department or even the decoration aisle. If you’re like us, it can be tough to find the perfect gifts for Christian moms and grandmas! These dear women are content to use the same bakeware they’ve been using for 40 years, and they prefer to pick out…
-
My Favorite Prayer Guide of 2022: Hidden Manna on a Country Road
Cinnamon-colored sycamore leaves fall slowly, surrendering to the earth. I hold one in my hand, and it covers my flesh like a glove. For an instant, my mind drifts away from the problems of work and home. Peace cloaks me, and I think about the book that’s been serving as my prayer guide this autumn. In her new book Hidden Manna on a Country Road: Seeing God’s Daily Provision All Around Us, Sarah Geringer writes: “When I feel the overwhelm of a bigger-than-me situation, I know it’s time to hit the gravel road and pray it out, surrendering it so I can experience God’s peace. I also know that whether…
-
Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit: 9 Ways to Love Well
Not long ago, after studying the fruit of the Spirit, I decided I was done yelling at my kids. Ten minutes after making the decision, someone dumped a whole box of cereal on the kitchen floor in an attempt to pick out the marshmallows. Cultivating the fruit of the Spirit suddenly felt far from my reality. If you can relate—if you want to bear more fruit in your life but tend to fall short—you’re in the right place. Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit Today, we’ll talk about how to lean into God and bear more fruit in our lives. First, let’s look at what God’s Word says about cultivating…
-
A Mother-Daughter Devotional for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith!
Today is the day, friends! Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith, our new mother-daughter devotional book, is on sale in paperback right here! In case you haven’t been hanging around these parts lately, our 12-year-old daughter Bekah and I wrote a mother-daughter devotional book together, and we would love your support! Each devotion includes Scripture, commentaries from both of us, conversation starters, and even a journaling section. We had a blast writing it, and we are so excited to share it with the world. Get it now in time for Christmas! It makes a great gift for the mothers and daughters you care…
-
5 Prayers for Insecurity: When You Wonder If You Fit in
Do you ever walk into crowded places and wonder where you fit in? Maybe you feel like you don’t fit in at all. Most of us have felt this way. Today, we’ll explore five empowering prayers for insecurity as we aim to overcome our fears of rejection. I invite you to join me as I navigated these feelings among a group of beautiful and talented women. Prayers for Insecurity I make my way cautiously from the ornately decorated lobby of the exquisite hotel and follow the lavender banners that lead to the conference room. I’ve just traveled eight hours to attend a women’s conference. This seemed like a wonderful idea…
-
A List of Good Habits for Joy and Energy
A pewter sky threatens rain, and I stand at the window as the little one calls from the living room. He wants to know what we’re doing for fun today. I’ve been deliberately turning to my mental list of good habits daily, and I decide on a trip to the woods. “Let’s head to the creek,” I declare, and within minutes, we’re strolling down the road. “Better hurry up. It might rain, Mom,” he urges. “A little rain won’t hurt us,” I tell sweet Aiden. He makes a comment about melting, and we both laugh. Much to our delight, the rain holds off. We spend an hour throwing rocks into…
-
Angry Cleaning: 3 Ways to Move Toward Peace and Joy
I recently went for a walk with a friend who confessed to Angry Cleaning. I didn’t have to ask her for an explanation because I’ve Angry Cleaned more times than I can count. Unlike “Rage Cleaning,” in which we intentionally pour our frustration into the cleaning process, using our anger for good, Angry Cleaning is act of cleaning angrily, often because others are not helping us. I invite you to join me as I walk through the woods with my friend, and we’ll learn how to move away from Angry Cleaning, Angry Cooking, Angry Working, and Angry Parenting. Angry Cleaning A thread of silver water twists its way through an…
-
What If This Interruption Is a Divine Assignment?
First light pours through the curtain slow and thick, like buttermilk. Lost in the glory of dawn’s hazy glow, I read a few Psalms as I soak in God’s love. “God, help me embrace every divine assignment you send me today,” I pray. I then recall a moment from several days ago. Could This Interruption Be a Divine Assignment? A few days ago, I’d been sitting by the window for less than ten minutes when our little boy shuffled up beside me dragging a chair. After pushing his chair next to mine, he sat down and snuggled against me. The scene would have been cute if the little guy had…
