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There were two years in South Africa that were both the worst and most wonderful of my life. It made it easy to stay home on Sundays and get lost in a book or a TV show instead of a church service. Because there was always this lingering sense of showing up in a place […]

Sometimes you stand in a room full of women with their hands raised in worship and you know that you’re on holy, beautiful ground. The lights twinkle and the hairs on your arms stand up as your heart keeps time to the music and the words you’re singing are your holy hallelujah after a very […]

For this mom, afraid of messing up her daughter, Teri Lynne Underwood’s new book is a lifeline. Each prayer, each activity, each new way of seeing my girl with Jesus’ eyes filled me with gratitude and a hearty amen for this book! I’m so glad to welcome Teri Lynne to the blog today. “Is this […]

Because I don’t know anyone who doesn’t want friends. But I know lots of women who worry about being unfriended. Or misunderstood. Or hurt or judged or left out or taken for granted by their friends. I’m one of them. So they stop trying. They stop risking. They stop starting over. Because they’ve stopped believing […]

So there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you. But life was so busy and so loud with the book launch and travel and I know you all have full plates and calendars and I wanted a chance to let everyone catch their breath. And maybe go to Target. For flip flops and the usual […]

I haven’t been home in 2 and a half years. My dad turns 70 this month. And so our family will make the trek from Baltimore to Johannesburg via Detroit and Amsterdam. To be back with these people. These people who were my first home. We’re ordering gifts and getting new suitcases and planning all […]

There will be days you will question everything you believe. There will be days you will be so tired it’s too hard to make the bed. Just getting out of it will have to be enough. There will be days you will wonder why no one told you that they loved you today. There will […]

It’s finally here! The first week of the Never Unfriended Sweatpants Bookclub and we couldn’t be more excited!! We so hope you’re already signed up to join us. If not, it’s never too late — just click over here to jump in! Since this is week one, we figured you might need some notes on how […]

So what do you do when the book that cost you 18 months of your life and many many tears comes out into the world? You go to Panera for breakfast and coffee and then maybe you are too distracted to do any real work so you start people watching. When two little kids next […]

Oh you guys we have the BEST way to start your new week! With FREE GIFTS!! Every person who pre-orders a copy of Never Unfriended before April 4th gets a goodie bag of some fabulous gifts!! 1. A beautiful, distressed clipboard with 37 art prints PLUS 12 exclusive Never Unfriended quotes from the book (ships to […]

Good morning from a hotel room in Arkansas! I’m supposed to be up and showering and packing so I can be on time for meetings this morning and instead I’m here with my computer balanced on a pillow on my lap writing to you. Because sometimes you wake up and all you can think about […]

In a world where women can unfriend each other with the swipe of a finger, how do we find friendships that we can trust to last? Maybe by first becoming those kinds of lasting friends ourselves. So instead of rushing into friendship with a backpack full of sky high expectations, it’s worth taking the time […]

I have spent thousands of hours of my life held hostage by worry about friendships with women. I have over-analyzed, ranted, and kept my husband awake as I rehashed interactions with women I care about—mining our conversations for minute details and trying to make sense of who was wrong and whether or not I needed […]

I had no idea I had a temper until I had kids. I’ve been on a mission to tame it ever since then. It’s been the most painful and humbling journey of my life. I’ve shared a lot about it on the blog. I’ve made progress. I’ve been proud of the progress I’ve made. And […]

There’s a morning I wish I could forget. But the memory is lodged in my mind like a splinter. So I try not to go to near it because it hurts. This painful memory of a painful morning. That pressure cooker time of day. That hour and a half when every single child will inevitably […]

There are Christmas tree ornaments scattered across the carpet, hither and yon. The tree has long since dried up. It has shed a layer of crunchy prickles everywhere. But I haven’t stripped it of its decorations yet. Instead, right when I should have been starting dinner yesterday, I cleaned out the pantry. That took over […]

Some days are just bad. My day started bad. The middle was bad. And it ended bad. My phone died. My computer wouldn’t back anything up. I didn’t get all the things done we try to squeeze into a single day. And my kids FREAKED the FREAK out at the dinner I served them. They. Could. […]

There are three, maybe four writers, I would consider both some of my favorite people as well as my favorite writers. Hilary Yancey is one of them. Her son Jackson just turned one. And this is their story. I spent a year and 20 days grieving an empty five minutes. They were the first minutes […]

I’ve been the community manager at the website (in)courage for six years now. That means six years of working with and for and alongside women. Writing about women, reading about women, talking to women, being in small groups of women and large groups of women. I don’t think I could possibly overstate how much I love women. […]

Last year was only the second time I cooked a Thanksgiving turkey and put together a family advent countdown calendar. The SECOND TIME EVER IN NEARLY A DECADE OF PARENTING. Because that’s how long I’ve been sleep deprived. Dear Moms of Littles, listen up here because this is for you — I know this time […]

After long days and nights and days again, and at the end of long weeks, I often wish I could reach through these words and give each of you a medal. You there on the other side of the screen. I would give you a medal if I could. I would give you a medal […]

My friend, Jennifer Camp is a Jesus follower who loves pointing women to Him for all their needs, ugly and messy and amazing.  Her new book, Breathing Eden: Conversations with God on Light, Fresh Air, and New Things, is a fictional look at the real life struggles we all face every day and how God hears and responds to our […]

As a full time working mom of three kids 11 and under I’ve basically been stretched too thin for a decade. And I’ve lost track of how many weeks have ended with desperate calls to my husband to tell him that I just can’t take it anymore! The thing that’s gotten me through has been […]

I’ve always worked full time. Sometimes outside of the home and more recently from home. Some seasons have been easier than others. Some have been very, very hard. One of my most read posts on this blog is the one I wrote called, Grace For the Working Mother and Her Guilt. I know a lot […]

Let me tell you about last night. You’re five and a half now. The half is important to you I think. And you sleep with my shirt. It was my favorite shirt. It smells a LOT like me because it hasn’t been washed in some time. But when I started traveling for work this fall […]

It’s been a year now since we first started talking about what it would look like if I took one of the kids with me when I travel. I don’t travel a lot. But more than I expected. I get to go and encourage other moms. Yes, I get to. I remind myself, it’s always […]

It’s noon and I’m jumping in the car to go grab a spur-of-the-moment donut. Boston Cream. Every time. And I get a text message from a new friend. I’m in the drive-thru when I hear her voice pop up in my head and on my phone and she wants to know what I’m doing for […]

I’ve learned to like bagels with just cream cheese. Toasted bagels with plain cream cheese. I realize that this morning as I’m making coffee and toasting my bagels. “I’m so American,” I think. My South African dad loved his cream cheese on toast with a big helping of strawberry jam on top. Delicious. A memory […]

My oldest will turn eleven this year. So basically, I’ve been tired for a decade. Stacey Thacker is that friend and that voice in my head telling me I’m going to be okay. And her book is your permission slip to stop feeling like you have to be all things to all people all the […]