+ 1 – 1 it sounds like simple math, but when it involves people, the answer is NEVER simple. Add a child, or a spouse, or a friend, and it is SO much more than just adding a number to your contact list. Have a child, spouse or friend subtracted, and the loss is incalculable. It is never simple math when it comes to people. Never simple when it comes to relationships. This season, if you are experiencing the joy of addition, or the sorrow of loss, may Christmas math bring you hope. Loss, is not the end. Grief, is not the end. Death, isRead More →

Once upon a time there was a pastor who invited his congregation to join him on a caffeine and sugar fast. 4 days into the fast a usually-normal-mother was jolted by the sounds of WAR in the living room. Two small boys with two swords, one antique crystal chandelier. CRASSSSSHHHHH!!! Two sheepish boys, one mortally wounded chandelier. NO ONE was to blame. It was mere chance that the poor chandelier fell victim as an innocent bystander. It just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. So said the boys anyway. All this, with straight faces to the mom with NO CAFFEINERead More →

Today my daughter turns 17. The daughter who’s heartbeat we thought we lost when she was in her 3rd month of gestation. The daughter who spent the first year of her life in and out of the hospital with reoccurring eColi infections. The daughter who’s pic lines I have flushed at 2 in the morning, and hooked up to a pump to give her life giving antibiotics every 6 hours. The daughter for whom I prayed for, over, and with. This child, who almost wasn’t…..is. I wanted to make her a fairytale concoction of 3 layers of chocolate mousse filled cake with raspberries, covered in darkRead More →

I’m going to have to explain the SCOTUS news to my kids. It won’t be easy. So here is what I plan to say. Don’t expect your government to set the highest law in your life. Governments have always, always, always failed to set a high enough standard. Government says “Don’t kill”, but the higher standard is “Don’t hate”. Government law says “Don’t hit your wife” but God’s law says “If you don’t treat your wife properly, I will not listen to your prayers.” Government law says “Don’t abuse your kids.” But God’s law says “Don’t bully your kids, and push them to wrath.” RememberRead More →