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Exciting News: We’re Launching a Tween and Teen Girl Devotional Blog!
I’m excited to share some fun news today! Bekah (our 12-year-old daughter) and I are launching a tween and teen girl devotional blog together! If you’ve been hanging around lately, you know we just released a book called Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith. The blog is written in a similar format to the book and is a way to reach more women of all ages. We are so excited to share our hearts with moms and daughters around the globe. We hope to help mothers and their girls connect with each other and go deeper in faith together. The Backstory In 2020,…
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5 Creative Ways to Offer Hospitality This Summer
Daylight comes early now. Hummingbirds suck down our sugary syrup before the slow drip of black coffee has even begun. Summer is the season of long, lush days that open wide with possibilities. It’s the season for picnics and bonfires – fireflies and s’mores. Summer is also the perfect season to offer hospitality. You might think of cookouts and sparklers when you think of summer hospitality. However, hospitality involves more than just opening our homes; it’s about opening our hearts. We can offer hospitality anywhere. We weren’t made to do life alone. Every time you open your heart and life to someone else, you extend hospitality. This can happen in a…
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3 Ways to Have Less Stress at Christmas This Year
We walk to the hill where the fir and spruce mingle in a dozen shades of emerald. Within milliseconds, the youngest falls into the thorny branches of a hawthorn crabapple, and the oldest is tangled in a knot of burdock. I take a deep breath, remind myself to give thanks in this moment, and say a prayer for God to help me push back against stress at Christmas this year. We’re living in stressful times, and I don’t have to start listing the circumstances that make this year tough. You have your own circumstances. They aren’t identical to mine, but they carry their own challenges, and if nothing else, wouldn’t…
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6 Outdoor Hospitality Ideas for Autumn: How to Connect in These Pandemic Times
There’s a single-file row of foxtail grass bending over the roadside like a line of school children dropping pennies off a bridge. Oddly enough, seeing them posed over the gravel gets me thinking about gathering with others and embracing autumn’s invitation for offering outdoor hospitality. It gets me thinking about standing with others to admire the season as it unfolds all around us. A few years ago, I wrote a series of posts on how to offer hospitality that changes lives (Check out the most popular post in this series here: 8 Surprising Ways to Extend Hospitality). The underlying message woven throughout these posts was this: Hospitality is the art…
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10 Free Outdoor Activities for when the Walls Close in
Are the walls closing in, even just a little, as you observe social distancing mandates? Our family has been embracing every possible idea for motivating the kids to get to open skies. If you’re looking for free outdoor activities for your family during this time, you’re in the right place. I’ve been compiling ways to get outside as a family, and we’re having a great time! This includes the following: Wildlife Scavenger Hunts A Variety of Easter Egg Activities Obstacle Courses Tally Charts for Miles Traveled Photo Scavenger Hunts Treasure Hunts with buried treasures Frog-egg collections And much more! I put together a new resource to share these ideas with…
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3 Practical Ways to Encounter Christ at Christmas
We recently pulled out the Christmas boxes again—a hodgepodge of fake pine, glitter, and the faint aroma of cinnamon spice. As we unpacked the boxes, I reminded myself to remain focused on Christ at Christmas this year. I thought about Jesus’ presence with us as we stung the colored bulbs on the tree and wrapped the branches with a long burgundy ribbon. The spirit in the room was nothing short of celebratory. Amid the celebration, something within me seemed to stir to life, as if the celebration, itself, was ushering me into Jesus’ presence. I soon realized that the simple act of celebrating was pushing out worries and cares. I…
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4 Practical Ways to Transform Christmas Stress into Christmas Worship
December has arrived, and I’m not sure I’m ready. I’ve been staring down my to-do list and feeling anxious. I don’t want to acknowledge that this Christmas stress is stealing my joy. Nevertheless, I must admit that the demands of this season feel more like an invitation to stress than an invitation to worship. Advent is the season for fixing our eyes on the coming Christ, the One who came in the flesh two thousand years ago and will come again to reign forever in glory. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised there is an enemy out to distract me throughout this season of anticipation. After we cut down the…
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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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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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6 Creative Ideas for Showing Hospitality This Spring
As the daylight gradually begins to linger later into the evenings and the late-winter blizzards become less frequent, spring is a wonderful time of year to open your heart and home to others and embrace opportunities for showing hospitality. Ideas for Showing Hospitality: Here are six ideas for opening your heart and home to others this spring. Above all else, remember that you do not need to pursue perfection to create spaces where others know they belong. Simply show up and love those around you, and you will be a blessing. 1. Embrace Maple Syrup Season Yes, maple syrup actually has its own season, and it might not be what…