The Fish Tank

Bathsheba: David's mistress turned wife Deborah: Judge and Prophetess Dinah: Daughter of Jacob Elisabeth: Mother of John the Baptist Eve: The very first woman Leah: Jacob's wife Lois: Timothy's grandmother Lydia: First Christian Convert Mary: Mother of Jesus Mary & Martha: Served Jesus Mary Magdalene: Disciple of Jesus Miriam: Sister to Aaron and Moses; Prophetess Naomi: A Woman of Noble Character Phoebe: Deaconness of the Church Priscilla: Missionary Rebekah: Wife of Isaac; mother of Jacob & Esau Ruth: Left her life to be with her newly widowed mother-in-law; wife to Boaz The Woman at the Well: First Missionary This may just look like a list of names. The list could extend the entire page. There is a story behind each one of these women. A story of value, perseverance, and meaning. A story that was written and propelled by God. These are some of the women of the Bible. I was raised to be a strong woman. I didn't grow up in a feminist househ...

Wings don't grow overnight. Thank goodness. We work so hard to build strong roots in our children. It seems daunting to have to let them go and allow them to spread their wings one day. How do we even do it? How do we let them go when the time has come? I cannot even think about this without welling up. It seems so very hard. It's amazing how easily we get wrapped up in the moment we are living. All I know is being a mama. It's like I was never anything else. I was always mom. I can't remember much of life before these boys entered my life and completely wrecked it in a good way. What else is there, anyway? I like to watch other mamas mom. I am inspired and learn so much when I stand back and observe other moms in action. There is nothing like a mother. Thankfully, I am blessed to have women in my life that are a little ahead of me on this mothering adventure. I have watched them launch kids into the world over the past few years. What I noticed was that those win...

We took the boys to a minor league basketball game. We got into the arena and looked at the map to find our seats. What we couldn't find, however, was that "X' that says, "You are here." Thankfully, we had the where-with-all to find our way and made it to our seats before tip-off. We are constantly looking for our "X." A lot of the time, we don't know where we are going or which way is up. We search and search for the X getting lost along the way. What if we are already there. You are already standing on your X exactly where you are meant to be. Standing firm right where we are, on our X, doesn't mean we lose sight of where we are going. We can still have goals, dreams, wishes, and hopes. Knowing we are right where we are supposed to be right in this moment means we own what we've been given, steward it well, and appreciate this season. There is a part in Elizabeth Gilbert's, Eat, Pray, Love , where her friend talks about how sh...

Peter. Let's talk about this guy. Peter was in the inner circle with Jesus. He hung with the crew that eventually changed the world. A group of misfits bound together by a king; a king that looked nothing like royalty. Can I be honest? Peter was a hot mess. Peter cut a soldier's ear off. (John !8:10) Peter was quick to take out the sword instead of trust the Savior. (Matthew 26:52) Peter denied Christ. (John 18: 15-27) Here's the deal about Peter. His given name was Simon. Andrew, Peter's brother, brought him to Jesus to show him that they had found the Messiah (Savior). He first found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated as Christ). Andrew brought him to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which means Peter). The next day Jesus decided to set out for Galilee. Finding Philip, He told him, “Follow Me.”… John 1:41-43 The very first thing Jesus did when he met S...

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5 John 15:5 is a familiar verse. Pastors have taught on this verse countless times. We all know the analogy that if we dwell in Him (the Vine), we will bear much fruit. I saw this verse a different way the other day. I thought I would share my thoughts with you. Christianity and the Church has gotten a bad rap. You can read about Church history and see that this is not a new concept. The Church pushes back on culture and sometimes does it in such a way that it turns people off to the faith. There is no question that this is true. Ask most non-parishioners and they will tell you that most church-goers are hypocrites and the reason they do not attend. I think I may know at least one reason why this holds true. We are trying to be the vine and not the branch. When Jesus came onto the scene, he turned this whole faith movement upsid...

He was sitting at the counter, his dad beside him. It was early; before 7am. They were working through some last minute math homework. Never-mind the fact that he had ALL weekend to complete his assignment. Who am I kidding? I would have put off my homework over the weekend, too. There is a lot of chatter out there. Chatter about how the middle schools years are scary and really really awful. Chatter about how this world will devour your child once he leaves the safety-net of elementary school. Chatter about technology and how it will kidnap your child's mind and lead them to the registered sex offenders list for life. Chatter. Lots and lots of chatter. Can we squash that chatter? I think so. I am here to tell you the preteen years are not to be feared. They are to be relished. I heard it all when my oldest was in fifth grade. We mamas all started thinking about what we should expect the next year. Just like when your preschooler moves on to kindergarten, the elementary to mi...

I was cleaning up our bedroom removing sheets and letting air out of the air mattresses. The boys had a little slumber party in our room. One mattress was at the end of our bed, the other on one side of our bed. I had to walk back and forth to get everything torn down. Every time I walked to the left side of the bed, I tripped over the corner of the rug. Do you have a rug that does that? Is there a corner of a rug in your house that curls up and no matter how many books you stack on it, it never lays flat? Anytime I make our bed, I trip on that stupid rug. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 Before you click that "X" in the top corner, I want you to know that this isn't a post about what horrible sinners we are. This is a post about freedom. How often do we have junk in our lives and instead of attacking it head on, we stuff it down? We keep piling books on top of our issues...

It's finally starting to feel like fall in Texas. We had a few beautiful days in September and October, but our real cold doesn't usually arrive until November. The leaves don't start changing color until then as well. Our neighborhood is full of beautiful trees. When you enter from our north entrance, all you see is tree lined streets. I long to see the fall colors as summer comes to a close and fall slides in. But, I have to wait. We have a red oak out front. I can see it when I pass our front windows and from my son's room. This tree goes from empty and barren to vibrant green to golden brown to a brilliant red. This year, our red oak is taking its sweet time changing from green to red. I am getting impatient. Fall is my favorite. The colors of fall rejuvenate my soul. Let's go, tree. Change it up! But if we hope for what we do not have yet, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:25 Life is like the leaves. We find ourselves in an uncomfortable season and we a...

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit Matthew 28:19 The house is quiet. The kids are off to school and the husband off to work. I am still in my jammies; teeth not brushed. With coffee in hand, I shuttle around the house picking up toys, shoes, and lost socks. I straighten beds that little seven year old hands tried to make. I throw a load of laundry in knowing I will soon get distracted and forget about it having to rewash the clothes before they start to stink. I sit down to write the questions for our Bible study now in a time crunch because I tried to do too much in too little time. Welcome to my life. In Matthew 28, Jesus tells us to go. He desires us to share the Gospel and introduce people to the love and grace we received; the precious gift of salvation. We look out into the world and see these phenomenal Christian communicators and think they've got this disciple-making thing han...

The flags. They are down again. Hanging halfway down on the pole looking sullen. Sometimes I wonder if we should just leave them at half mass. Why even bother raising them back up? Tragedy seems to strike so often these days that we might as well just leave them in the halfway state. I think of the first responders having to walk into that church, that concert venue, that tragedy. Their lives, like the victims laying motionless, forever changed. My nephew is a fire fighter. One of my best friends is married to a fireman. I have numerous friends married to police officers. Their lives, too, are changed immeasurably. Senseless acts of violence try to rob my hope daily. A lack of understanding and unfathomable circumstances twist and turn in my soul. A darkness creeps in and leaves behind a vast heaviness. The whole earth feels like she's gasping for breath; like she's on a ventilator. I walked up the street and saw the flags. Worship music playing in my ear buds, I told God I...

When Jackson was little, he was always dressed to the nines. He had more pairs of shoes than me as an infant. Why do infants need shoes, anyway. I will say, little baby feet are the cutest and even more adorable in little shoes. I had to have the cute diaper bag. His stroller fit the plaid Graco trend that was hot in the mid-2000s. It mattered. I don't know why, but it did. By the third kid, not so much. The younger boys had their country fair the other day. I asked them if they wanted to dress in western wear. Here is how the conversation went... Me: Boys, do you want to wear cowboy clothes for your country fair? Boys: What does that mean? Me: A button up plaid shirt and jeans. Boys: (with a look of disdain) Ummm...no. That's okay. My boys don't do button up shirts. Jeans? You would think I asked them to wear pants made of needles so those are out, too. They would rather where athletic shorts and flip flops; the youngest in a long sleeved shirt to top off the f...

I am learning a lot about myself this year. Maybe it's because I am in my last year of my 30s and about to hit 40 in a few months. Maybe I've finally gained some confidence under my belt. Whatever it is, I am liking this new me. I am currently in Austin, Texas on a trip with my husband. It's a work trip for him and a "Mama-needs-to-get-away" trip for me. I knew there were some things I wanted to do (Hello, massage and pedicure), but didn't have a real plan going into this weekend. I also knew the hotel we were staying at but didn't know the exact location. We pulled into the parking lot of the hotel and I scanned the area. Shake Shack. Yum. Nordstrom. Well, that's a given. There was everything at my finger-tips all in a beautifully manicured and confined space. This is my type of gig. Safe, yet fun. Until... My husband realized while we were at the right hotel, we were at the wrong location. Good feelings gone. All my glorious plans flew ou...

Annie Downs says, "Celebrate your former self. Don't belittle your former self." I'm paraphrasing, but you get the gist. She says this ALL the time and I absolutely love that she does. So often, we are told to hide our pasts. Our pasts haunt and shame us. We are told they are something to completely distance ourselves from and I just don't think that's truth. Let me start with some Scripture... “Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands." Isaiah 43:18 When referring to our past in Christian circles, we hold onto Isaiah's words. We are told to forget about the past and what has happened. We are to be alert for what is happening in the present time and what is to come in the future. So, it seems pretty clear that we are supposed to completely let go of o...