Here’s a little secret… marriage is hard! After a long day of wrangling kids, doing the ever mounting dishes, folding the Leaning Tower of Pisa laundry, you may collapse on the couch wondering, is there really time or energy for your spouse? I am here to let you know the answer is no. Just kidding. […]
A Father’s hands tell his story. Dedication and sacrifice are how he spends his days as his life no longer becomes about himself. It has been broken for another. He tirelessly rises and grinds so as to make sure his family is fed and clothed. His hands and back hurt, his body aches, and yet […]
Give the gift of showing Christ to others this Christmas season, by showing kindness to those He loves. Join me on these 24 Intentional Acts of Kindness!
My feet are resting under our chipped Ethan Allen coffee table. It’s near midnight and there is a stillness in the air. All the kids are asleep, and the day is drawing closer to a new day. My thoughts don’t rest, although the time is telling me to, as I try to eke out a few more minutes of this gift called “today”. So many good, hard and beautiful moments etched onto today’s page… written in sacrificial love. It’s effortless to walk in creek beds, receive hand drawn cards, and enjoy my kids because they truly are a gift. That’s easy love. Yet, the love of a child, goes beyond the easy, and allows you to love when it’s hard. Disregarding selfishness, and transforming your life so that you think of someone else’s needs above your own.
Do we even fully grasp the significance of a God who is willing to meet us where we are and love us? We are so frail, so broken; from the least to the greatest, we are as dust. The sad reality of our humanity is that even those who loved God with as much as they could, struggled with remembering their humble place. Provision, love, faithfulness, mercy… God has never lacked in any one. His very essence is love, and His character has no flaws. Why do we seek for lesser things? Why do we allow ourselves to wander when God is all we need as our daily bread, and our fullness of life?
Do you know you’re beautiful, Ms. Isabella? We, as women, sometimes question our worth, our beauty… We seek admiration by the way we dress, the way we talk, the choices we make. We want so bad to feel loved. Our heart cries for this attention, and when we don’t receive it, we criticize ourselves as though we didn’t reach the standard that we needed to achieve. We question if we are of value. Well, sweet child, I pray this is not a vice for you. I pray you know you don’t measure your worth with these shifting scales. You are beautiful… Because you are YOU.
There are people in our lives that grace the doors of our heart, and leave unforgettable impressions. I can proudly say I carry the namesake of mine. My grandma, Svanhild Kristoffersen, was strong and reserved, living a life of love for Jesus with her actions. She was intentional about the words she spoke and grace and generosity […]
As parents, we are bombarded with information on how to be a good parent. It’s overwhelming. Society tells us. Our kids tell us. Other people tell us. It is easy to feel like a failure, even when you give everything you have. We need to quiet out the excess noise, and pare down the hundreds of do’s and do not’s to what really matters. Setting priorities is essential to avoid the extra unnecessary stressors that distract us from what needs to be our focus. Take the reigns on what’s important in parenting and focus less on the frills that won’t make or break your child.
Marriage is a commitment filled with promises that are made between two imperfect people, yet tied together with love and a vow. With the words “I do”, you promise to love and cherish your spouse. Although society says love can be temporal and disposable, and that it is okay to disregard your vows; God paints a different picture. His is one of perseverance, companionship, love, and devotion.
It was one of those not so proud moments of motherhood, where instead of speaking life and encouragement to the ones I love, my words came out hurtful. It was undeserved. Through the grind of day to day, we need to be conscience of the words we speak, and the tones we speak them in. We impact those around us, whether we know it or not. Thankfully, sometimes even when we mess up, we are shown God’s grace, through the undeserved love from another, and hopefully, we can glean from those moments, reciprocating the same love to others.