How to Survive Thanksgiving and Black Friday {Believer’s Bounty}

    My eyes sprung open. I looked at the clock to see 3:00 AM staring back at me. I groaned and turned over, re-positioned to ease the ache in my hip, and began to pray as I always do when I wake before 5:00. It’s not holiness that prompts my petitions. It’s a determination to frustrate the  enemy if …

Grace Should Make Us Happy: A Word Wednesday Post

I recently learned that grace should make us happy. Really. Isn’t that cool? The meaning is hidden in the ancient Greek word. I have been fascinated with “grace” for a long time. One year I prayed for all aspects of grace as we define it. Graceful . . . gracious . . . poised. . .  hospitable . . . …

No More Being Nice

I’m a lover not a fighter. In fact, I used to pride myself on my loving personality. (The key words in that sentence are “used to”.) I taught my children to be nice. We did not allow them to fight. They were NOT allowed to argue with each other or their parents. EVER. I began to see the bad fruit …

Jack and Patience

Jack At the risk of talking too much about our puppy, I felt I needed to share the name that fit. Are you ready? “What is Jack. Final answer.” Swew! What a relief to have a name for this little guy. He seems to already be responding to it too. Potty training…well that’s another story. I’m still as bad at it as …

The Devil and Costco

I almost lost my religion. With a very short list of necessities (milk, bread, pork ribs, and crab dip) I ventured through the chaos of the huge store. I knew when I couldn’t find a parking spot it would be bad. But this crowd was worse than the threat of a hurricane and Christmas Eve combined.  People were meandering everywhere I …