This past year, I needed stories. With each new loss and struggle that my family faced, and with the depth of fear and pain in our communities around the world, I prayed for peace and comfort, but my heart felt worn and beaten. I wasn’t really sure we’d find a safe way through the losses as they piled up around us. What I longed for more than anything was the reassurance of the truth that no matter what, God knows and good wins. “Yes, there is ... Read More about Ever After: The Best Fairy-Tale Retellings for Christian Readers
Ultimate List of Free Kindle Books for Christian Readers
How does a booklover pack for an extended out of state trip without going over the weight limit or leaving her beloved stack of books behind? I’m the girl who never left the house--even for a grocery run--without a book in my bag. Packing for my first long trip posed a unique challenge. When it came down to deciding between clothing and books, books won. Who needs an extra pair of shoes when it means leaving out a favorite title that was ... Read More about Ultimate List of Free Kindle Books for Christian Readers
How to Find the Connection You Crave in Your Friendships
It’s embarrassing to admit it but somehow I have reached my mid thirties and still am not exactly sure how to crack the code of creating authentic, especially local, friendships. No matter how I try, I feel perpetually floundering when it comes to making friends as an adult. Even though my introverted self would have denied it back then, making friends really did feel much less complicated as a child. But one of the things I crave the most as ... Read More about How to Find the Connection You Crave in Your Friendships
The Easiest Way to Build Traditions at Christmastime
It was the December I was ten years old. A family friend dropped the third volume of Christmas In My Heart in my lap a few days before Christmas. I read it through three times that Christmas. And every year since, no matter what the weather is like or who I’m celebrating the season with, those Christmas stories are the thing I look forward to the most. When I unpack the Christmas things, I eagerly pull out each volume of Joe L. Wheeler’s ... Read More about The Easiest Way to Build Traditions at Christmastime
best parenting books hand-picked by moms like you
I gave up on parenting books years before I became a mother. While many of my friends were devouring them in stacks, I found myself wandering a maze of conflicting opinions and parenting style wars that ranged from mild eye-rolling to outright heated controversy between people in my circles. And the older I got, the less I wanted to do with any kind of mommy wars--or the books that inspired them. And when I finally picked up a book on ... Read More about best parenting books hand-picked by moms like you
15 Missionary Heroes and Their Inspiring Stories
I grew up on a steady diet of missionary stories. During the long Alaskan winters of my childhood, we had hours of read-aloud time. Curled up around our trusty wood stove, we soaked in the words and the life experiences of some of the greatest heroes of faith: missionaries. David Livingston, J. Hudson Taylor, "Ai-weh-deh", Mary Slessor, and many other lesser-known missionaries were familiar names in our home, almost like family friends. But ... Read More about 15 Missionary Heroes and Their Inspiring Stories
To the Small Moments
I wake up when the dawn is just starting to make the edge of my sky tint with blue and gold. There's breakfast to make and lunch to pack before Scott rushes off to work. And then, when the sun is up above the trees, I get Charlotte her breakfast and start my own working day. Every morning, it's the same. Get up, set the day in motion. Try to juggle working a demanding job with mothering a busy toddler. Hopefully get some laundry cycled and ... Read More about To the Small Moments
A Taste of Holiday Cheer
'Tis the season for twinkle lights, Christmas carols, and menu items that only make an appearance around the holidays. There's something about food that's extra special. It has a way of making itself the heart of favorite traditions. And traditions are the thing that helps to keep growing families close through time, change and miles. For many of us, a single bite of a holiday treat can bring back a flood of a thousand happy memories. ... Read More about A Taste of Holiday Cheer
The Whole Story of Christmas
When it comes to stories, I like to start at the very beginning. I like to know how things began, so that when I get to the end I can look back and relive the entire journey. And I can't think of a more beautiful story to get to read from beginning to end than the most important one, the Advent story. That is just one of the reasons why I really, really love the brand new book for Advent, Christmas! the whole story of the God who loves: it ... Read More about The Whole Story of Christmas
Peeking into Our Favorite Cookbooks
Between Google and Pinterest, it's easy as pie (though pie isn't that easy!) to find every variation of any recipe. Copy cat recipes, gluten free, or vegan versions. The ideas are literally "googolplex" in number. But there's nothing like the inspiration to be found in taking a stack of cookbooks off the shelf and browsing through them to find a new favorite or an idea that was escaping you. Betty Crocker's Cookbook and more... reviewed by ... Read More about Peeking into Our Favorite Cookbooks
10 Reasons Why You Should Be a Bookworm
If you have ever tried to convince someone who doesn't read of all the reasons why they should, this post is for you. Okay, for them and you. But if you love books and haven't thought about all the pros of being a bookworm, you will definitely want to keep reading. Some of these reasons for why you should keep on reading will be old news. But just maybe a few others might surprise you. Here's to the love of reading! 1. Reading Expands ... Read More about 10 Reasons Why You Should Be a Bookworm
Choosing Forgiveness
Life is never exactly fair. Somewhere along the way, we all get hurt. Someone betrays us. Someone does us wrong. We become the innocent victims of unspeakable abuse. The aftermath is devastating and difficult. And no one expects wounds to heal overnight. No one expects abuse to be brushed under the rug. Forgive and forget? It's much more complicated than that. I picked up Choosing Forgiveness by Nancy Leigh DeMoss just days ago. Last year, I ... Read More about Choosing Forgiveness
