Life is hard. Sometimes it just sucks. I’m sorry to be blunt but it’s true. I have had some hard seasons lately that have rocked me and stopped me in my tracks. But, I have learned beautiful things in the midst of hard circumstances too. Today I want to be extra practical for those of…
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Navigating Friendship – the Key to Finding Connection
Okay, you did it. You got past the schedules, you found a place, and found some people. Awesome! You are headed toward a new goal of creating friendships. You showed up and talked with people. You made some connections. You have a few class members and acquaintances that you want to get to know better.…
Navigating Friendship – 4 Ideas for Where to Start
We all long to be deeply understood and known. That is truly the heart cry of humans. It’s why kids spill out long stories and complicated details when they feel comfortable. It is why movies with deep friendships move us and cause us to feel something. Wouldn’t it be great to jump into a TV…
Teaching My Teen to Leave Gracefully
I am in the midst of teaching my teen how to navigate this world and deal with big decisions. The saying goes that you learn how to do things best when you teach them. I am finding this to be very true. Recently we have learned what it looks like to leave a commitment (and…
4 Helpful Steps for Planning Summer Break
By the time April & May show up on the calendar I am ready to start my summer planning. If I am NOT the one deciding what my summer looks like then it gets decided FOR me. I stumble into August completely exhausted and worn out. I have no energy to start the school year…
Easy Family Routines: The Monday Meeting
It’s a Monday morning. We are all moving slow. The kids would rather play computer games and I would love to sit on the couch with a good book. The weekend was very busy with household tasks, catching up on laundry, activities with cousins, farm chores, shopping, and church. Now we must move into our…
Practical Questions for Spring Reflection & Planning
[Here is a favorite from the archive. I hope it helps you as we move through this season.] It is spring. The Palo Verde trees are blooming and it is heating up during the day. As I rummage for my flip-flops in my closet, I begin to think about our summer plans. What will this…
The Climb
This weekend I climbed a mountain. This was very significant for me for a lot of reasons, but first I want to mention that it has been a long time since I’ve been able to climb a mountain. When you become a parent your limitations and the things that you can do are often determined…
20 Things I Have Learned from 20 Years of Marriage
In the last 20 years, we have had some great moments and hard ones. We have had seasons of closeness and times when we each did our own thing. This is my list from my experience of what I have learned in the last 20 years of marriage and married life. #1 – acknowledge a bid…
How to Be Kind to my Future Self
What can I do today that will help me tomorrow? How can we be kind to the future version of ourselves who is tired and worn out? How can we do the thinking right now so that we do not have to do that later? The difficult part of tasks is often the thinking and…