In her Lenten Reflections booklet, Ruth Haley Barton says, During Lent we are called to enter more intentionally into prayer, self-examination and repentance for the purpose of restoration and renewal. As painful as it is to be exposed at this level, awakening is evidence of God’s Grace. Using the story of Jesus and this Samaritan woman […]
The Dance of Grace & Trust
As my daughter creeps closer and closer to six months old, I get more excited and more freaked out. You see, I had a goal of having her solely breastfed for her first six months. In those early weeks I thought, “there is no way in heck I can survive this for SIX MONTHS.” But a wise […]
Writings of a New Mom
No matter how many blogs you read or books you scour, despite the advice and assistance of other mom friends, nothing can prepare you for new motherhood except new motherhood. You dive in face first, splash around in the most undignified sort of way, bob to the surface for a gasp of fresh air, and […]
Her Name
Nearly a lifetime ago, a sauve 17 year old boy made his intentions clear. The girl was 18 and naive to the world of dating, but she was confident that this guy could be trusted. God was good to weave our stories together, teaching us how to love, how to argue, how to commit. It […]
Christmas Newsletter 2015
For years we prayed for this moment. Our hearts ached, our minds questioned, and our spirits sought the Lord. Yet I’m not sure we ever dreamed that just days before Christmas 2015 Melanie would be 39 weeks pregnant. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love by which he loved us…showed us […]
The Unspoken Club
As our little girl’s due date looms closer and closer, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle of preparation and the questions of inquiring minds…but it’s impossible to forget where we were just months ago. In March I was truly believing that God might be calling us to childlessness. My identity was steeped in infertility, […]
Woah, Baby!
Dear Little Girl, The most incredible experience in my life (…in my life…? *Mel, that’s kind of dramatic* …but really it’s true…) happened on Tuesday night as I crawled into bed. With head propped on two pillows and a third folded up under my legs (because all the pillows are necessary at this point in pregnancy sleep), I […]
The Soul’s Winter
It can’t stay winter forever. At least that’s what we fervently hope every February or March as the bitter winds blow and the snow clouds roll in day after day. The first time you shovel or don a winter cap it feels exciting and new. But months into a Midwestern winter you begin praying for signs up […]
Hindsight is 20/20
Early Sunday morning I was exchanging texts with a good friend. She told me about a Scripture verse from her devotions which had brought me to mind. As I left the house to take my daily walk, I began meditating on this passage. By means of their suffering, he rescues those who suffer. For he gets […]
Cease Striving
My dearest friends, In the midst of the adoption, I was starting my 3rd round of Clomid post-surgery (first week of March). We were entering our 58th month of infertility, and Kevin and I made the decision to cease our focused efforts on conceiving. We looked each other in the eye and said, “We’re done.” […]