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...