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When Your Environment of Grace Makes People Feel Left Out

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Lydia Jane turned 10 on Saturday. We had a super special week planning her celebration together. We share a love for design and all things fashion. It was clear from the start we make great party partners! The most special part of planning a party {to me} is creating the guest list. Because in my hospitality heart, the party has everything to do with the people, and very little to do with the cute table { I always enjoy setting}. But….the guest list can also be complicated. Because in my hospitality heart, the question I always ask is How can […]

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The Forbidden Gumballs {and the fall of Tessa and Myles}

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I walked in after being gone for a few hours with the almost birthday girl. She took our purchases to the dining room where we’ve been making things pretty to celebrate. She quickly returned with a half empty jar of pink gumballs. The very pink gumballs I told the four children we left behind NOT to eat. Tessa? Myles? Where are you? I called out in my not so happy voice. Two littles appeared sheepishly into the kitchen. Did you eat the gumballs I told you not to eat? Their eyes got really big. Tessa gave me some so I […]

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These Are the Moments {they will remember}

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We gathered as a family for 11 conversations. There were countless distractions. An antsy five-year old present for each one. A few nights where we played catch up. And little messes to stop and clean. But we did it. And I’m thankful. As we talked about what it means for Jesus to be born into us, right now, in all our current realities, we spoke confessions of jealousy. Of stubborn pride. Of the desire for human compliment over godly affirmation. We invited God to enter relationships and insecurities and abilities. We wondered together about what God wants to give us […]

Everyone Needs It

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A friend of mine approached me recently needing to communicate something she was frustrated about in regards to our friendship. It’s a friend I trust, so the words fell graciously and I was able to sort through and discover truth:  at the root of her disappoint was my lack of affirmation. She wasn’t seeking it. But even when we don’t seek or expect affirmation, we may still experience the consequences of not receiving it. These consequences surface as insecurity or resentment or feeling undervalued. The absence of grace-filled words is just as powerful as a sharp tongue intended to hurt. […]

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praying for my {big} boys today

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‘Cause really, who else will? With the same fervency and compassion. With the same steadfast heart and committed spirit. Who else but their mama will pray for them with the depth of understanding of who they are and who they want to be? Their daddy’s prayers are full of spirit. They are heart felt and listened to. They are needed and special in a world where daddy’s tend to leave. But my heart spends hours upon hours with their hearts every day. I tend to those boys, and they purify me. I feed and nourish them, and they swell my […]

You Will Lack Nothing

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I’ve done motherhood both ways. This body swelling all on its own and me going along for the ride. Never having to tell it what to do. Never having to tell my heart how to love because it gently grew in beat with the living soul inside me. And then there are the times when the stretching and pulling happened to my spirit, not my belly. I expanded in ways I didn’t know was possible. And as these two babies grew inside other women’s bodies, the joy of the Lord grew inside me. The natural and unnatural expanding of heart […]

How [not] to be a Grace Giver

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When your daughter trips on a toy and spills coffee all over your table and rug, don’t jump up to grab paper towel and leave the little offender crying on the couch in front of a room full of people. When your four year old is acting sassy to you, don’t turn around and do the same thing back at her. When your husband makes a confession, don’t let the stress and busy of the holidays keep you mad and pouty instead of forgiving and engaging. When someone eats an ingredient you need for a recipe that night, don’t stop […]