Moms, Share This Lifetime Promise With Your Kids
There’s a funny thing about growing up together. People assume it only happens to children, but the truth is that we’ve all been growing side by side. Each of you has been finding your voice, your confidence, and your values. And even the smallest things – like when your playlists drift through the car and […]
6 Easy Ideas to Refresh Your Life Right Now
When I think about things I want for myself, the first word that comes to my mind is refreshment. To me, to refresh something means to breathe new life into it. The dictionary also defines refresh this way: “to add new vigor and energy.” Which of us doesn’t want that? There’s really no area of […]
In a Changing World, We Can Rest Assured That God Remains the Same
It feels like we have been thrown to the bottom of life’s ocean by the circumstances that surround us. Unrest, political conflict, shifting truth, and polarization on virtually every subject have been hitting us from all sides, as if we are in an emotional tsunami without end. The feelings of uncertainty, fear, and even hopelessness […]
What to Do When Resentment Creeps Into Your Marriage
Picture this: I was sleeping soundly for a change on a recent Saturday night. I say “for a change” because, in this phase of my life, a solid night’s sleep is more of a pleasant surprise than a guarantee. Then, suddenly and without warning, the unmistakable sound of a very loud Facebook pop-up ad disrupted my […]
12 Retro Adages That Still Ring True Today
I was born in California to parents who were from the Midwest. My mom, whose father was a country doctor, grew up in Iowa. Her dad was oftentimes paid with chickens and garden produce because most of his patients’ families had very little money. When Mom was 9 years old, her father died while on […]
Pulling Out Trauma by the Roots
Every day for nearly six years, I had to walk by a line of misshapen, horribly trimmed, oblong, and funky shrubs to get to my front door. Some years, I’d take shears and gently prune the gangly branches in hopes that the new growth would sprout forth as effortlessly and symmetrically as it appeared our […]
Want to Be in Style? Spreading Kindness Is Always Beautiful
“I always say that kindness is the greatest beauty that you can have.” –Actress, Andie MacDowell I will be the first to tell anyone that I am not an expert when it comes to beauty and style. I’ve never really been up to date on the latest fashion or beauty trends. For instance, I have […]
How Do We Measure the Impact of Our Faith?
What is the measure of our faith? Is faith effective in the numbers we reach, the impact seen by others, or is it something else? The challenge of establishing a credible presence as a Christian content creator often begins with a follower count. Mine was 1,500 on Instagram—a number I deemed acceptable for a quick […]
The Pillow: How a New Perspective Can Save Your Marriage
Our counselor literally threw a new concept at us. Pulling a pillow from her chair, she tossed it at our feet. “This pillow represents your relationship.” My husband of 10 years and I sat side-by-side in weekly counseling sessions, but our hearts were miles apart. Our marriage had grown cold, and our opinions on everything […]
I Thought He’d Propose on Valentine’s Day—He Broke Up Instead
It was Valentine’s Day. We sat on my small, tan microfiber loveseat in my sparsely decorated apartment. The night had been perfect. Dinner at our favorite local restaurant. A bouquet of flowers along with gifts of chocolates and a stuffed animal. My heart swelled in anticipation of how I dreamed the night would end. A […]
When It’s Not a Superhuman Effort
You may have heard the story of the elderly man who was shuffling along a beach that hosted an unusual amount of stranded starfish. In the distance, he noticed a young boy picking up starfish and pitching them back into the sea. When the lad got within hearing distance, the old man called out, “What […]
5 Children’s Books Celebrating Our Beautiful Diversity
As a kid growing up in the 80s and 90s, I loved listening to my mom read to me. As she would, I would be inspired by a little engine that kept persevering up the hill. I loved the way Winnie the Pooh and his friends stuck together regardless of the mishaps that occurred along […]
Ask Dr. Zoe – How Do I Choose the Right Man in My Love Triangle?
‘Texas Tangled’ Asked: This might end up sounding like a terrible romance movie… I am a 30-year-old divorcee (I was married young in a military marriage that ended when I was 24). I was in a long-term relationship with *Travis for two years, in which we had great chemistry, lots of fun, good teamwork, and […]
7 Powerful Morning Practices to Draw Closer to Jesus
Life is busy. The to-do lists are endless, the laundry basket piles up, and before we know it, the day has passed and we haven’t spent time with the Lord. Can you relate? In this post, I’m sharing seven morning practices that I trust will help draw you closer to Jesus and equip you for […]
5 Truths About the Best Kind of Beauty
I repeated the phrase to myself again and again. Think on things that are noble, pure, and true. Beautiful things I’d told myself as I tried and failed to will myself to think positively. Noble, pure, and true I reminded myself as the blinking LED light slowly but surely diminished my attention span. Positive. Noble. […]
10 Ways to Be a Successful Young Professional
With all the bad press young generations get, being a young professional isn’t easy, especially if you’re a woman. Becoming a successful young professional can be a daunting task. Trust me—with a lot of hard work and a little “it’s who you know” luck, in my mid-twenties I landed an incredible position as the director […]
10 Surprising Things I Learned About Cancer as an Oncology Nurse
During my third year of nursing school I knew I wanted to be an oncology nurse. Not your typical route for a 20-year-old girl. When I started my major, I thought I wanted to do labor and delivery because how fun would that be? But those hormonal women were too much for me. Then I thought […]
