Struggle well: Fatherhood, love, and grace

Fatherhood is a struggle.  Don’t get me wrong. It is glorious, exhausting, worthwhile, exasperating, a blessing, and painful.  It is all of those…


Prayers for a Tired Dad

God has always used ordinary people to do remarkable things. That’s where you come in, Dad. You are a man God can use. God knows we are imperfect.…


Role reversal: The beauty of serving a parent

I’ve observed my mom almost eat glass. She’s been lost around the neighborhood a few times, she’s told me she doesn’t love me anymore, and she drank…


How the discipline of Sabbath rest saved my daughter’s life

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (Exodus 20:8 ESV). My daughter, Megan, is a senior in college and struggles with perfectionism and…


How fifteen minutes could save your relationship with your teen

This weekend something came up—once again—with one of our sons. It was an incident related to the way he treats one of his brothers, and honestly,…


How to Model God’s Design for Marriage

I (Kristin) don't like clutter. I like tidy spaces and cleared counters—everything in its place. My kids know this about me. Some of them share this…


Can we hardly wait to continue our course?

I was struck by these words through the Message translation of Philippians 1 recently. Since motherhood is the course that marks most of my days, it…


A script to preach to myself

“They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” Revelation 12:11a   I’ll never forget the first time a girl in…


Time is part of our mortality: 3 ways to make the minutes slow down

Maybe it’s because this is my final year of teaching, so my last class is graduating soon. Maybe it’s because my oldest just turned ten. Regardless,…