Last fall my mom’s side of the family began preparing for a once-in-a-lifetime occasion. On December 24th, 2014, my maternal grandparents celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. We decided to make a video marking this special day. My cousin recorded Grandma and Grandpa sharing how they met, details of their snowy wedding day and life on their farm (Grandpa was a farmer in Ohio for many years), and other sweet details of a long life lived together. My husband, our boys, and I taped our portion of the video; the boys made up a short, funny skit wishing Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa ... Read the Post
The Jesus Truck
Nearly two years ago I had a difficult season of anxiety, complete with racing heart, physical weariness, anxious thoughts spiraling out of control, and life-altering worry that engulfed my every thought and breath. One of the ways my anxiety crippled my life during that challenging time was when I drove at high speeds on the interstate. Usually when I drive up and down the west coast of Florida on Interstate-75, I’m fine. In fact, driving places was never an issue in my life until I had my first experience with anxiety a few years back. My family lives almost two hours south in Cape Coral, ... Read the Post
Comfort in Pain
My daughter is determined and dedicated when it comes to sports. At the ripe old age of fourteen, she has earned more first place ribbons and medals in two years than I have in my lifetime. As she began considering the path she wanted to take in high school sports, she opted for cheerleading. With only two and a half months to prepare for tryouts, she went full-force into tumbling classes and private lessons. Her instructor could not believe her work ethic and drive to succeed. When the day of tryouts came, my daughter felt confident and excited. She knew the hard work and perseverance ... Read the Post
My Ten Mile Radius
“Life takes us in so many different directions; never doubt for one minute that I am not with you in spirit. You are always on my mind! You are the one constant in my life who I know is always there. I don't step often out of fear of feeling my circumstances; but also because so many people rely upon me that I have to keep going. God gives me the strength to keep a positive and supportive attitude. I feel as if I'm in a little garden with a ten-mile radius and within that ten miles I sow, I prune, I support, I feed, and I weed. All are just a little part of life.” My sister sent this quote to ... Read the Post
Trusting for More
We are a military family who move frequently, which means constant change and trust. After arriving at our overseas duty station, we immediately started the venture of finding our home. This is always the first thing on the list so that we can settle the family, get the kids in their schools, and basically get back to normal living once again! When we looked at multiple houses and couldn’t find anything, we got very discouraged. We looked at many homes, but nothing felt right. Our allotted thirty days was up and still we had no home. My husband was pressing for a house to be picked and I ... Read the Post