Family
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What makes a house a Home?
Last week I left you with this: “It’s a peculiar thing that began to manifest itself inside my soul when Lucy ran ahead. Home. It can’t be defined by things. My home is with my people – it will always be somewhat here and a whole bunch ran ahead. And there is a peace there- Jesus gives me peace.” I admit I slip up and find myself holding onto things too tightly. But as the years have been added to my life, the physical things I tend to hold onto have changed with the seasons of life. Change. I used to fear this word. Trembled at the sound of it…
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Tiny, but Mighty Voices
If you’re feeling blue – try painting yourself a different color. – Hannah Cheatem, Age 8 Recently, I was at the dentist, and I heard this little tiny voice coming down the hallway. The hygienist that was cleaning my teeth, obviously, couldn’t ignore my giggle, and said, “I just love little voices.” In that instant we were connected at the heart. I asked her if she had any little ones, to which she pointed at a picture of a little girl, and said, “yes, she is still very little and just babbles for now, but I can’t wait to hear what her voice will really sound like.” I love it…
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Generation to Generation
When a generation tolerates a sin, the next will celebrate it, and the generation after them won’t even know it is a sin. Unknown I have been sitting with this quote for a few weeks now. So I invite you to sit with it for a little bit before continuing… Every generation is marked with their “successes” and “failures.” Every generation is labeled these days and tagged with the “tech inventions” of the day. And I am not saying this is all bad, but hear me out, because it does become nauseating at some point. I am a Millennial/Gen Y, born between 1980-1996. My generation is tagged as the Information…
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Resting and Remembering
This past week, an older man who had a big impact on my life, passed on to see Jesus. I like to think he is seeing Lucy once again. He was a faithful Sunday School teacher, a radiant and welcoming greeter at a local funeral home, a father, a grandfather, a great-grandfather, and mentor and cheerleader to many. He was always ready with a good funeral home joke to lighten the room. He knew what he believed and didn’t hold back. He started every Sunday with the scripture from Isaiah 9:6, “For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on…
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Welcoming the Unexpected
“Each person’s grief is as unique as their fingerprint.” -David Kessler One of the most critical and life-changing lessons I have come to simply accept is this: grief is a practice of welcoming the unexpected. Tears, emotions, feelings, rise up when you didn’t even realize they were waiting to, or needing to. I find that the brokenness of the surrounding world breaks me more now, than ever before. I know some of this comes with age, but I cannot deny that very much of it is perspective. I have a Daily Light (I’ll link at the bottom of page) that sits open in my bathroom, to today’s date. I have…
- "Life" Books, Children, Family, Friends & Neighbors, GRANDparents, Let's be Real, Mommy, My Little, Pass it On...
Be Human. Be Real.
Babies. I know not everyone shares my overjoy and love of the tiniest humans among us, but allow me to share some perspective from what makes my heart come alive. First, my Lucy would have been eight this year, so I would still be in the midst of raising my girl and loving to learn about whatever she was loving at the moment. But she is with Jesus and He still has me on this side of Heaven, so he has more work to be done in me, for sure! In the past few years I have been able to watch quite a few of the children I kept get…
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Family Moments
“Family moments are the best souvenirs.” Moments. Maybe a split second decision. A window of time that surprised you, and allowed you to spend time with family. A car ride conversation. A road trip. A stay-cation. It’s the moments within in these times that we remember, that children remember. There is a five year gap between my brother and I, which to some seems like a lot, but honestly, I love it and always have. It’s one of those things, as a kid, you didn’t really think about unless somebody pointed it out. We have always been best friends, partners in sneakiness, and have always loved family. Family trips and…
- "Life" Books, Children, Children Come, Consider This..., Family, Friends & Neighbors, GRANDparents, Grief, Let's be Real, My Little, Pass it On...
Children Grieve Too
“There’s a stillness about grief. A process. An overwhelming hush. Some days it screams about the one I miss. Some days it’s a peace that there is more. Some days it’s a silent mending as tiny broken pieces are put back together. In any form, I don’t mind the quiet — it’s a sign of an endless love, a richness, an undying hope. I’m learning that the quiet is part of the sacred mess of grief, of aching, of mending, of becoming whole when part of you is gone. It’s sacred and holy, and because of that it makes me feel just an inch closer to him. I don’t want…
- "Life" Books, Aunt-ing, Children, Chronic Illness, Consider This..., Family, Friends & Neighbors, GRANDparents, Let's be Real, Memories, Pass it On...
When “Showing Up” Looks Different
“I’m learning to love the pauses, the quiet stretches, where nothing much is happening, but everything feels okay.” -Unknown The man in the picture above, my Paw-Paw, is the closest thing to being a “show up” legend for his grandchildren and even other children he loved! He wasn’t perfect, and he wouldn’t want to be seen as such. But when he started to get to weak to make his two a day visits to my grandma in the nursing home, it was a huge sign that he was extremely tired and his body was giving out. He worked in human resources for quite a while at the end of his…
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Heart and Mind
What is your thoughts on comments like these: “Kids will be kids.” “They are just in the terrible twos phase.” “He/She is quite the handful.” “You have your hands full!” My thoughts, can you guess? I’m not a fan. Indeed, I am the first to advocate for kids to be kids! Let them play! Good golly, adults need to chill and join in playing more often. However, this comment is very rarely ever used for this reason. Instead it’s used as an excuse for inappropriate behavior. So is the terrible twos, and all the age related undercutting comments about tweens, teens, and all in between. The latter two comments are…
