What is one thing about your life you wish you could change? I grew up reading missionary stories. Hudson Taylor. Jim and Elisabeth Elliot. David Livingston. Missionaries spoke at my rural childhood church often, and I always found myself stuck between horror and awe. What would it be like to leave everything and go to … More Brown-Eyed Girl * 10 Minute Devotional
As told with a little help from the brilliant 1996 movie That Thing You Do… When you first announce you’re headed to seminary, your friends are like, “Well, if you want to make a lot of money, you probably shouldn’t be a pastor.” 2. You spend your seminary years in a library and you’re all: 3. Then … More 10 Gifs That Perfectly Sum Up Being a Pastor
To start your Mondays off right… Introducing Monday Mommy gifs! (Because there’s not enough coffee in the worrrrrrld.) When you finally get the kids to bed…
We went to the park last week and I totally forgot to bring snacks. Rule #1 of parenting is always have enough snacks. Always, always, alwaysalwaysalways. My firstborn asked for a snack and I suddenly realized I’d left the bag in our entryway at home. “I’m so sorry,” I told him. “The snacks are at … More Again Tomorrow * 10 Minute Devotional
Because good neighbors are gold. … More 7 Signs You Have the Best Neighbors
Denise Levertov wrote a poem called “The Ache of Marriage.” When I studied it in college I wanted to throw it in the garbage. Marriage achy? Pfffft. Another example of a poet writing silly nonsense. Then I got married. That Levertov? She knew some things. Daryl finished his PhD this September. In many ways, his dissertation became a third … More The Ache of Marriage
Some of the hardest things to do are the little things. Let me explain. I would throw myself in front of a bus for my husband. I really would. But I might not let him pick the restaurant, because I don’t really feel like Mexican today. I would sacrifice a kidney if my son needed one. But I probably … More Start Small * 10 Minute Devotional
I just got back from ten days in northern Wisconsin (folks from northern Wisconsin always specify the northern because southern Wisconsin is cities and farmland, while the north is woods and lakes and white-tailed deer and air so fresh your lungs practically say “thank you” with each exhale). I grew up there, and my parents still live … More Top 10 Signs You’re at Your Childhood Home
1. Eat Less Sugar Yeah. I have a sweet tooth. Or maybe I have only sweet teeth. Since Diabetes runs in my family, it’s high time I got a bit of a handle on my Icees-and-Swedish-Fish obsession. (I have the palate of an eight-year-old. Don’t judge.) But here’s the thing: choosing to restrict something usually just makes me … More 5 New Years’ Resolutions I’m Not Making (and What I’m Doing Instead)
My sisters and I grew up attending Christmas Eve services at a rural evangelical church in the northern woods of Wisconsin. It was as picturesque as that sounds–snowy woods filled with evergreens and white-tailed deer and birch trees. After the services every kid was given a brown paper bag filled with candy and an orange, though … More An Unconventional Christmas Eve * Advent Devotional
Courtney Ellis 