The Fish Tank

We talk a lot about how difficult it is to raise girls. There's so much to be feared when raising girls. Society tells us girls have to fight harder, work more, and ultimately beat the boys in order to get anywhere in life. Men will oppress our daughters sexualizing their every move. Our girls need protecting. While I don't doubt it is tough to raise up a daughter, it is equally challenging to raise a son. Can we take a pause from the feminist movement and give light to the audacious task of raising boys? Our daughters will only benefit from raising valiant men. I have three boys. I come from a family of girls. Seriously. I have one male cousin. My husband is the only boy out of five siblings. Although I was a tomboy as a kid, I have no idea what it means or feels like to be a boy. Not a clue. My boys do things that absolutely baffle me. For instance, why-oh-why can boys not keep their hands to themselves? Why is everything a competition? Who cares who gets to the bus stop ...

Can I be vulnerable and raw for a minute? I want to be honest with y'all. You see, I am learning that I don't have all the answers. While I don't have all the answers, my response to so much these days is, "I don't know." Do you feel it, too? Do you feel like everything is circling around you and you can't grasp at any of it. You hear the arguments. You listen to the debates. And while you may lean to one side, the opposition can make so much sense. So, there you sit. Stuck in the middle. Where ever the middle lands. I am an educated woman. I am also a Christian. I like to call myself a forever student constantly seeking to learn more: more about my faith, more about parenting, more about my spouse and marriage, more about others who believe differently than me, more about opposing views. I cannot soak it all in fast enough. I have become my father who used to listen to his little hand-held radio only I have earbuds in listening to podcasts on my cell ...

"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8 Act justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly. I love this verse. I love it so much, I painted it on a piece of wood and hung it above our fireplace. My heart bursts for justice, mercy, and humility. My soul longs for the three. I am passionate, so very passionate, about justice, mercy, and humility. So much so, that observing the state of our nation and the world around us makes me feel a physical discomfort so deep that oftentimes, I have to walk away and get alone to regroup and compose myself. God calls us to mercy, justice, and humility throughout the Scriptures. Jesus lived this out in his 33 years on earth. So, it is only fitting that we are all wired for these three things. It is in our nature to have a response when we witness an injustice. We can understand when someone comes completely u...

I was volunteering at church when I was approached by a woman. She had filled out one of our connection cards and I could tell she was a little teary. She commented that it was difficult to fill in her information because we have a specific section for "her" info and another place to put "his" info. Being newly divorced, this was extremely uncomfortable for her. She told me it was tough to fill out. She is new to the area and checking out churches. A friend suggested ours and she decided to check us out. Her church experience had been disheartening up until this point. She mentioned when others found out she was divorced they would treat her like she was "trashy" (her words). She said that word and tears immediately filled her eyes and my heart broke for her. Sometimes in sports, when a player sets a record he may have an asterisk next to his name and his record. This could be because he wasn't fully qualified to defeat the previous record. While he ...

I was taking down the Christmas decorations on December 26th. This is earlier than normal for me but, our live Christmas tree wasn't so alive anymore. If we left it in the house any longer, it may have caused a forest fire. As I was cleaning, I needed a piece of paper to make a list. I walked into our office and heard the water on outside. Only, the water didn't sound very outside to me. As I inched closer to the wall where the spicket lay on the other side, it sounded like rushing water inside the wall. With each step I took, I walked deeper into the puddle. Our office was flooded. A few days later, the motor in our dryer died. That same morning, I dropped my phone in my coffee. This wouldn't be that big of a deal since we have insurance on the phone, but I had already used it for a previously cracked screen. Welcome 2017. What else do you got for me? I am currently sitting in our (freezing) office listening to the plumber bang loudly on the exterior wall removing br...

It's that time of year again. The time where we make goals for ourselves: most unattainable. We are going to be a better person, be kinder, give more, lose weight, put the phone down more often, read more, watch less. We place standards and expectations on ourselves claiming this is going to be the year. We put out a good story, but inside we are flailing. We are so desperate to be the person everyone thinks we are, that oftentimes, we lose ourselves. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness." Matthew 23: 27-28 Jesus had much to say to the religious leaders of his time. He was aware of their outward appearance. He saw what the people saw but was not impressed. The Pharisees ramblings di...

2016. Ah. What a disaster on so many fronts. Too much death, pain, chaos, and destruction. We met with our friends only to see pain in their eyes. We fought with our neighbors instead of loving them. The defriend button on Facebook never saw so much attention. The world beyond our borders seemed to implode with attack after attack. We witnessed babies covered in dust from buildings that were bombed. Just when we thought we would get through Christmas without tragedy, another truck plowed through a crowd. We lost a prince and a princess; childhood icons from our favorite TV shows. We watched our friends lose mothers, brothers, and grandparents. We visited hospitals and said tearful prayers asking for miracles. 2016 was no joke and many of us will say, "good-riddance" when the clock strikes midnight on December 31st. We are all dreaming of a more peaceful love-filled 2017. We are praying, wishing, and hoping for more life and less ruination. But, I think we all know deep down...