I see them out there every week. Marching, protesting, waving their banners of bloodied baby bodies. Their cause is obvious; they want the world to see the horrors of abortion. Their right is true; America is a land of freedom of speech. Their approach is wrong. I pulled my car over to where they were standing, and asked if I could take their picture. They were hesitant, but when I told them that [...] 
I was sitting in the lobby of a neuropsych office, waiting on the boys, when I had one of those crazy deja vu moments. Normally, I just wonder if I experienced the moment in a dream or perhaps in an alternate reality, but this time I knew exactly where it was from. A year and a half ago, we were in the process of adopting twin toddlers from Ethiopia. After almost a decade [...] 
Have you ever been around one of those people who are always trying to prove themselves to you? Every anecdote you share, they have a bigger story. If you pedal a bike, they ride a Harley. If you eat cheese, they own a dairy. If you have a sniffle, they have leprosy. I met a new one recently. She blew me away with her ability to see reality in such a flowing, ever-evolving [...] 
Several weeks ago, Beth posted a YouCapture challenge with the theme of “A Moment”. Participants were to capture the theme visually, and link their images to share. I wanted to participate. I really did. But, alas, crazy-town has come to stay in my life and I couldn’t get within a mile of a spare moment. In the weeks since, while I’m chasing kids, cleaning dishes, working, breaking up fights and taking accelerated showers, [...] 
“Oh my word!” I exclaimed to my husband. “Did you see that?!” He and I both looked at each other with a slight sense of giddy and hope. The boys had been quarreling, tears and anger roaring up inside them, when one of them pulled back and cocked his arm read to knock out his brother. Just before his fist flew into the waiting nose, he paused, turned, and came running to me. [...] 
I was mad. I was sick. I was tired. The kids constant fighting, arguing, anger, and fears were draining me and I felt left with an empty shell of a life. It was two hours before our house was going to be swallowed up in a slew of people coming over for Bible study, and chaos shrouded the place. I was rushing around trying to clean up toys, mop sticky floors, and fix [...] 
As many of you know, in the past year, our lives changed dramatically. In some ways for the good, in others for the uncertain, and many times for the scary. In May of ‘09, our home was invaded by two amazing foster boys: brothers aged 9 and 11. Within minutes of their arrival, we knew life would never be the same. Wild, lively, scared, and curious, our home became a constant whirlwind of [...] We were all gathered in the living room, neck-deep in the Story of God. As we listened and shared, questioned and stretched, we kept in mind the one major “rule” of the study: to stay on topic and keep the discussions on a fair, equal level, only discuss information that was previously shared in the story. So there we were. Listening. Sharing. Digesting. It was great. We were discovering new things and uncovering [...] 
I’m rushing out of Costco trying to get back home when I hear her call to me. I can’t see; doing my usual routine of running errands without my contacts, squinting as I go. I walk over to discover she’s selling Girl Scout cookies and apparently it’s the last day to buy. “Last chance,” she says. I usually pass on these, but the boys have been fairly good this weekend. They deserve something [...] 
“Sit. Stay. Stop. Wait… Sit!” He was struggling to gain control as the dog wiggled and sniffed in front of him, nudging the treat in the boy’s hand. “Dad,” he asked. “How do I train a dog to obey me?” The same way you train kids, I thought. Rewards. Bribery. Threats. “Repetition,” Toby replied. The boy stood there, face scrunched in contemplation. Then he took a deep breath, turned back to the dog, [...] |
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