5 Things I Learned from Writing Moms’ Night Out Do you have a dream that you don’t dwell on long because the idea of it coming true seems so unattainable? I’ve had a dream like that. It’s seeing one of my novels make it to the big screen, and that happened! Well, to clarify, I… [Continue Reading]
About Me
Living Brave Every Day
Living Brave Every Day I’ve never considered myself a brave person. I’m not one to bungee jump, and the best I’ve done on the ski slopes is the beginner’s run. (And with much trepidation at that!) Stepping out and deciding to pursue writing was one of my bravest steps. Writing about the deep pain and… [Continue Reading]
Be The Change
Be The Change Lately, I’ve been thinking there’s a lot of things I’d like to change. 1) I’ve actively started exercising and using a food journal to lose weight and get in shape. 2) I’ve been trying to curb my spending. 3) And I’ve been learning to be more thankful. All of those things aren’t… [Continue Reading]
How To Wait Patiently
How To Wait Patiently Are you currently waiting on the Lord? Maybe you’re waiting for a job, a spouse or a wayward child to return home. Maybe you’re waiting for wisdom for the next steps or how to handle a hard situation. Waiting is hard because there is so little we have to wait on… [Continue Reading]
Chore Charts Can Curb Complaining
Chore Charts Can Curb Complaining When we adopted our two sweet children, we sort of went into “survival” mode. Both children had emotional issues, and they need weekly behavioral therapy. Bella was enrolled in a therapy school, and Casey had physical, occupational, and speech therapy. I was spending hours and hours each day on the… [Continue Reading]
How do you tell your kids about a painful decision from your past?
How do you tell your kids about a painful decision from your past? It was a story I did not want to tell. But as Sanctity of Life Sunday approached, my pastor asked me to share my story with the church — the story I had kept secret for many years. My abortion story. And… [Continue Reading]
How To Find Peace in Chaos
How To Find Peace in Chaos I know that most of the time I look encouraging to my online friends. Why? Well, I don’t want to be a complainer or a whiner. I truly believe we can do more by lifting up people than tearing people down. We can also live freer by rejoicing than… [Continue Reading]
A Forever Home ~Hope for Orphans
A Forever Home ~Hope for Orphans I know my writing work is important because I get emails, tweets, and Facebook notes from online readers. But God reminds me often that my ministry isn’t just online … it’s offline, too. There are seasons when the most important heart I can touch is within arm’s reach. My… [Continue Reading]
God’s Heart for Adoption
God’s Heart for Adoption I first thought about adoption around 1999 when I was reading an article about orphanages in China filled with baby girls. At the time, John and I had three young kids ages 10, 7, and 5. Around that time I had also just gotten my first book contract. I talked to… [Continue Reading]
Sometimes Love Grows {Adoption Hope}
Sometimes Love Grows In my 25 years as a mom there have been many homecomings as I brought my children home for the first times. When Cory was born, I was a 17-year-old single mom, and we returned to my parents’ house. With Leslie and Nathan, John and I lived in low-income housing while he… [Continue Reading]
No More Grumbles: How I learned to trust God, stop acting helpless, and be a better example to my kids
No More Grumbles : How I learned to trust God, stop acting helpless, and be a better example to my kids So my family and I did a pretty dumb thing. We decided to take on a challenge not to grumble for a year. We chronicled the highs and the lows (lots of lows) in… [Continue Reading]