We live in a smallish space. 1200 square feet, to be exact. If you live in NYC, you may be thinking, “That’s enormous!” If you live anywhere else, you probably think that’s on the tinier side. A small space can be a challenge. For one thing, by the time it’s 6:30am my kids are READY TO GO (because … More 10 Tips for Small Space Living
Kid, midway through a day at the zoo: “My shoe is gone. It’s been gone for awhile.”
I’m a pretty frugal person. It probably started when I was born in Wisconsin, a state where thou-shalt-live-humbly. Everyone drives Toyotas and Fords and Subarus. Millionaires live in log cabins. As an elementary schooler I literally didn’t know people could buy clothes from the front of the store. I thought those were just for show, since everyone I knew always headed straight … More Faith, Frugality, and Feasting * 10 Minute Devotional
Often I learn things the hard way. Example 1: I learned not to wash the preschooler’s red Iron Man shirt with light-colored clothing. Duh. (On the plus side, we now have lots of pink socks.) Example 2: I learned to avoid telling someone recently diagnosed with Celiac disease, “It’s okay, it’s actually way easier than being diabetic!” because it turns … More 5 Things to Avoid in Your Blog Bio
Four words: weekend away, no kids.
Back in Jesus’ day, people had dirty feet. Sandals, dirt roads, lots of animals… you do the math. [I led chapel for our preschool a couple weeks ago and mentioned that Jesus and his disciples probably stepped in poop all the time, forgetting the cardinal rule of talking to 3- and 4-year olds: Do Not … More Dirty, Dirty Feet * 10 Minute Devotional
Good Friday is this Friday, April 14. Good Friday is all about the death of Jesus. The horrific, bloody death of Jesus. This day is one of cornerstones of the Christian faith. It’s important. Essential, even. I want my kids to have a grasp of it from their earliest days. To have heard about the … More How to Explain Good Friday to a Preschooler, and Other Things Seminary Never Taught Me
Asking a kid to put on their own shoes when they don’t want to.
UCC Pastor Lillian Daniel, co-author of An Odd and Wondrous Calling, wrote a Huffington Post piece that went viral a few years ago. In it she vented about her irritation with those who claim to be “spiritual but not religious.” Daniels writes: Being privately spiritual but not religious just doesn’t interest me. There is nothing challenging about having … More Personal, not Private * 10 Minute Devotional
Holy Week’s a-comin’, friends. After basically missing the whole shebang last year due to a case of extremely overdue pregnant-itis, I’m stoked for this year. Holy Week, the high point in the church year that begins with Palm Sunday (April 9, this year) and ends on Easter Sunday (April 16), is the best. If the church had a Super … More 10 Ways to Enter Into Holy Week
Courtney Ellis 