HIS FINEST WHISPERS

"Wes chose to draw instead of finishing his work. He had to stay in at recess."  #itwasahardfirstdayback #EthanandLaylawerestilloff #physicallyatschoolbutstillmentallyonvacation #Icorrectedhimbutlaughedontheinside #gethimZorro

I have prayed over Wes for years, but now with this exciting new time of joining families, I have two new and dearly loved children to pray over. I’ve had the normal step mom fears, but I’ve also had some unexpected anxiety wondering if B and I are doing enough to cultivate their spiritual growth during this hard transition. We’ve read plenty of articles that have stated the huge bumps in the road that we will most likely face as a blended family soon…That is why the following story meant so much to me. It probably seems small to some, but it’s these small moments that I think God gives us to create enormous hope. As I think about Christmas time, I think of great joy ! Such joy on the night of His birth, such joy from the Magi, such joy for Mary and Joseph…Joy to the whole world. Matthew 2:9-10 …And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly w...

It happened. We had our first fight. Over kids. The decibel of my voice raised.   His was calmer. I was a bit irrational. He stayed fairly reasonable. We hassled through things for about an hour, without any solutions rising to the top. It got late. Both of us were tired. And both still upset.   Then I remembered that wise advice so many women gave me before getting married, “Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.” I looked at B and I thought about that worthy phrase… Then I pushed it out of my mind, crawled into our comfy bed and went to sleep. Yep.   The sun went down. On our wrath. So much for wise advice around our house. We were taking this newly married thing by storm. The next day, he called from work. I was calmer. I’d had time to pray and think and process. I’d had time to sort through the night before's struggle. I thought through all the things I knew were true about him and what I really believed was in his heart...

To my three kids, APPLAUSE. Be so very careful about the applause you seek after. Applause can be extremely dangerous. This is what happened to Lauren Daigle. Lauren was asked in telephone interview what she believed about homosexuality. “You know what, I can’t honestly answer on that…in the sense of, I have too many people that I love that they are homosexual, um, I don’t know. I actually had a conversation with someone last night about it. I was like, ‘I can’t say one way or the other.’ I’m not God. So when people ask questions like that, that’s what my go to is. Like, I just say, ‘Read the Bible and find out for yourself’ and when you find out let me know because I’m learning too.” The Lord has clearly written His will on the ideas of homosexuality. It is wrong. There is no gray area. Lauren claims to know the Lord...Does she really not know His word? Or is she more worried about losing the applause from the world she has recently received? Think about i...

Our First Meeting Me: “B, this is a fantastic washing machine.” B: “Thank you!” I stand flat footed in front of the washer. I reach inside the washing machine down to the bottom. Me: “Oh dear. I can’t reach it. I can’t reach the bottom. My arms aren’t long enough.” B: “Uh oh.” Silently, I stare at B.   B stares at me. B: “What are you going to do?” Me: “This!” I walk back to the kitchen counter, (he watches with anticipation) I take a running start and leap. I clear the edge and successfully fly over the side of the top of the washer landing face down at a 90 degree angle, feet now dangling mid-air as I stretch as hard and as long as I can to reach the bottom. “Wait, wait, wait, B are you still there? I got it, I got it. The tip of my finger got it. Don’t worry about it. We’re good…” my voice echoing from the floor of the washing machine. Envious are you? I begin to pull a load of clothes out of the dryer. “Why does all of the l...

He took me out to the “city view” near the Stella hotel, a suggestion from his good friend, Clay. It was a gorgeous night. We walked up the 3 flights of stairs (me, in my wedges, he, in his Allen Edmund loafers). Somehow climbing to taller heights make things a tad more romantic than ground level. I thought it was the perfect spot. Looking out from the top, you could see a good portion of the city. It was just the two of us there, which made it especially nice. It was dim, breezy and quiet and the city lights were shimmering off in the distance. An author of a novel might describe the setting with words like dreamy or whimsical, yet casual and comfortable are the first to come to my mind.   We stayed there for a while. He made clever jokes and I genuinely laughed. I was not expecting such entertaining wit from this new friend, but he was surprisingly humorous. These fun moments were probably my favorite pieces of the night. While at the top, he asked for a picture. ...

Me: Why is your finger so high up in your nose? Wes: I put a bb in there. Me: Wait. What? What do you mean you put a bb in there? Wes: (Nonchalantly) I shoved a bb up my nose. Me: Why did you do that? Wes: (blank stare, slight shrug) Me: Oh em gee. I need you to get it out. Right now. Wes: I can’t get it out. I've been trying. It’s waaaaay up in there, mom. Me: Get in the car. Wes: Where are we going? Me: To the doctor, of course. Wes: Alright. (totally calm, as if this is totally normal) Me: Never. Again. Dude. Wes: You got it mom.