She might not remember it, but a lot of times she laughed when she replied ‘yes, they’re all mine’ (though she probably wished she could send a few of us back). She didn’t say it was easy and she didn’t say it was hard; she didn’t condemn their one-childness and she didn’t complain about us. She laughed.
Laborare est orare; orare est laborare. My Latin days come flooding into my memory: three years of verb tenses and vocabulary. Latin has a way of describing thoughts that make them instantly more profound. But in those years of high school translation, I never came...
There are so many seasons of waiting. When I was single, much of the waiting conversation revolved around finding a spouse. But after being married for six years, I’ve seen clearly that waiting is required of us in every single stage of life. Waiting is difficult because it requires trust. We can’t see the end game; we don’t know the outcome. We’re standing still (or so it feels like) until the next step if revealed to us.
I’ve been quite open about my own marriage on this blog. Josh and I come from two different spiritual backgrounds that made my road to understanding Scripture much easier than it was for him. I also have a four-year religion degree, when he spent his own college years studying engineering. I’m a reader; he’s learning to be. All of this stacks up to mean two very different ways of seeking God through the Word.
How do you talk about the goodness of marriage and still be honest about the hard? I ask this question at the eve of February 1st each year. As I re-read each year's blog post, written on our anniversary, I see the goodness I took away; I see the little steps to learn...
Ten years with God have taught me that the middle is what He’s most interested in. I am sure He loves the mountaintop moments, but we are formed in the valleys. We are formed in the dirt, made from dust and getting rather dusty in the making.
Josh was further convicted that some kind of structured worship time was ideal, even if it was only 2-3 times a week. I already go over verses and basic theology for kids during preschool (we use Memoria Press), so this would be a time for the girls to hear from us both and confirm what they learn in school and church.
Since breaking my leg in a soccer game three weeks ago, followed by surgery a week later, I’ve had plenty of time to consider what faith looks like in a season of trial. We’re right in the middle of one.
So many of us know what God has said about Himself, but we don’t believe it. We don’t believe Him. We wait to feel like God is enough before believing He actually is, and when the feelings don’t come, we assume God hasn’t either.
We live in the age of vague Christianity, a Christianity simultaneously enamored with ANY and ALL mention of God in the media, and put off by material that’s just too… biblical.