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Following God Wholeheartedly When You Feel Unappreciated
A friend sends a message about walls closing in, sick kids, feeling underappreciated, and how in the world she’s going to make it through this never-ending season. I tell her I understand. It’s been a long season in this house, too. In times like these, following God wholeheartedly in the unseen work of life feels grueling. For me, the calling throughout the past seven months has been to lie on the couch and survive the lingering illness that accompanies my pregnancies. I’ve been called to be still, hydrate, and try to somehow keep pressing on. Sometimes, the calling of a season feels so much like a quiet kind of death…
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Help, I Feel Like I Don’t Fit in
The scents of vanilla bean body spray and cherry blossom lotion waft through the door before I even enter the room. I hear them laughing, talking about children, and discussing essential oils as I pass through the threshold. It’s my first meeting with the Moms’ Group, and familiar anxiety rises in my chest. I wonder where I’ll sit and immediately feel like I don’t fit in here. I scan the room as I wait in line to fill out my nametag. My box-like letters look like they were penned by an eight-year-old boy, while the other women etch their letters with elegant calligraphy. Awesome. Why did I not take cursive…
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How to Raise Frog Eggs and Have a Blast Doing It
Spring is here, and the world is coming alive again. As we embrace longer days, sunshine, and spring bulbs rising through the soil, this season is a perfect opportunity to help our kids connect with nature. This year, our little family is learning how to raise frog eggs, and we’re having a blast in the process. Providing children with opportunities to interact with wild creatures in safe ways is one of the best ways to spark life-long interests in the natural world. A frog egg project is a great place to start, and even the least savvy naturalist can pull this off. I remember multiple frog egg projects throughout my…
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3 Questions to Help You Find Your Calling in Life
Have you been trying to find your calling in life and coming up empty? You’re in the right place. Let’s jump right in and talk about how to find our God-given callings. How to Find Your Calling in Life I remember where I was the moment I decided I wanted to be a teacher. It was my junior year of high school, and I was sitting on a grassy hill watching mist ascend over viridescent fields. It was my favorite season of the year, the season that seemed to awaken every part of me, track and field season. Sitting on the wet earth, I searched my life for the places…
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10 Outdoor Activity Ideas for Families
While community playgrounds and backyard sliding boards offer hours of entertainment for our children, greater adventure awaits those who are willing to lace up their trail shoes and head to the woods. Today, we’ll explore 10 creative and inexpensive outdoor activity ideas for families. A local community park, nature conservancy, or State Park can be a great resource for instilling an appreciation for the natural world in our children. Teaching kids to connect with wildlife develops a passion that can extend into adulthood. Creative Outdoor Activity Ideas for Families Here are ten creative outdoor activity ideas for families to help your kids enjoy nature: 1. Wildflower Identification Many people are…
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8 Powerful Scriptures to Pray Over Your Children
Do you want to be more conistent and focused as you pray over your kids? Today, we’ll explore eight powerful Scriptures to pray over your children. First, I invite you to join our family in the forest on the day I decided to be more intentional about praying for our kids. 8 Powerful Scriptures to Pray Over Your Children It’s a quiet Saturday morning on the cusp of spring when I sense that we need a change of pace. The oldest is glued to the laptop, and the youngest is watching his second movie of the day. I need to think of a better option before too much screen time…
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Trusting God in Hard Times: 15 Insights
The maples were speckled with tangerine hues when the long season began. I didn’t know what the months ahead might hold. I was in the middle of a rugged stretch of roadway, and the tunnel ahead looked long. Where do you turn when the going gets tough and trusting God in hard times feels impossible? Today, we’ll look at 15 truths about trusting God in hard times. We’ll also look at Jesus’ example of trusting God in uncertainty. Be sure to read to the end of today’s post for a free devotional eBook to help you trust God when life is difficult. Let’s begin by turning to God’s Word. Trusting…
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10 Anchoring Bible Verses for Uncertainty in Life
Somewhere along the blurred line between the lush days of summer and the frosty mornings of autumn, I stared out the window and realized we were stepping into an uncertain future. I’m a planner, and the uncertainty threatened to make me come unglued. I needed to find some anchoring Bible verses for uncertainty. Be sure to read to the end of today’s post for a free devotional eBook that will help you establish a rhythm of connecting with the presence of the life-giving God daily. 10 Bible Verses for Uncertainty Opening my Bible, I began my search. As I scanned the pages, I considered my tendency to cling to control.…
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15 Bible Verses About Attitude: Why It Matters
My high school volleyball coach often reminded our team that the most important factor for success was attitude. I’ve carried his words with me for 30 years, and they hold true. Today, we’ll turn to another source of wisdom as we explore the importance of attitude. We’ll look at 15 Bible verses about attitude and learn why a positive attitude is so vital. I’ll also share some mindsets that lead to unhappiness as we aim to apply these verses to our lives. Be sure to read to the end of today’s post for a free devotional eBook that will help you establish a rhythm of connecting with the presence of…
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How to Trust God in Difficult Times: 4 Ways
It’s a bitter winter evening, snow falling like a white veil, when I realize that I need to let myself feel the disappointment I’ve been running from. Not long ago, a dream fell apart, and I decided it would be best to pretend I never cared about the dream. Perhaps facing my true feelings on this brisk winter evening will help me learn how to trust God in difficult times. To be honest, ignoring the pain seemed easier than dealing with disappointment directly. Most of us know all about this kind of false resilience. We say we’re rolling with the punches and bouncing back, but what we’re really doing is…
