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
I read somewhere recently that cleaning the house while your kids are awake is like brushing your teeth while eating Oreos. Pretty much. Laboring in vain takes on a whole new meaning with young kids in the house. I’m a working mom, but even with all the scheduled, productive hours at church and the university, there … More Laboring in Vain? * Advent Devotional
I only know the talented Megan Busch through the blogosphere, but after reading her writings one thing became immanently clear to me. WE NEEDED TO BE FRIENDS. Spend some time with her Advent devotional today, and I think you’ll feel the same. I used to keep an unwritten checklist in my heart. Maybe you had … More My Unfinished List * Advent Devotional
This guest post was written by the lovely and talented Stacey Philpot of Chronically Whole, a blog dedicated to her journey with Lyme disease, faith, family, and friendship. Waiting. We’re the worst at it, are we not? Surely it’s not just my newsfeed that’s filled with complaints about it. The line at the grocery store is too long … More When Waiting Hurts * Advent Devotional
Daryl Ellis is smart, handsome, thoughtful, and he loves Jesus, his family, California, and the UCLA Bruins (in that order). He married me nearly ten years ago, and being his wife and watching him be dad to our two boys is one of my life’s great joys. Welcome, Daryl! Isaiah 65:17 (NIV) See, I will … More Deep Desire and a Thousand Detours * Advent Devotional
Dana Pierce Herndon is middle school teacher, loving kids during a really important, transitional time in their lives. Anyone who does that for a living is pretty awesome in my book. Welcome, Dana! Isaiah 61:11 (NIV) For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the sovereign … More Work the Soil * Advent Devotional
Jim’s back! You can read his previous Advent devotional, on listening to Jesus amidst a noisy world, here. Isa 55:6-7 (NIV) Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have … More Give Me a Break * Advent Devotional
Heather Gerwing is a member of a Christian writer’s group I joined a year or so ago. She’s a blogger, a student of Scripture, and an all around wonderful human. Welcome, Heather! When my husband and I were newly married 12 years ago, we purchased a starter home that we planned to live in for five … More Waiting for a Zip Line * Advent Devotional
My brother-in-law Jared Bangs is a fiery redheaded Baptist pastor with a killer sense of humor and four beautiful kids. He visited us in southern California a couple of Aprils ago, and our neighbors found him swimming in our condo complex’s frigid, unheated pool. “What’s wrong with him?” they asked. “He’s from Minnesota,” I replied. Our … More Today is a Good Day * Advent Devotional
Courtney Ellis 