In The Restoration Project series, I’m sharing my story of how I’m moving from hurt to restoration. The first piece was naming my hurt, the second piece was feeling fully known, and this is the third and final piece of the series. Just the other day, the girls and I were baking Christmas cookies, which […]
grace
For the overwhelmed party planner
This is a prayer for all of us who will invite others into our homes during the holiday season. We will prepare meals, answer the door when the bell rings, and scramble with extra responsibilities. And though we have generous hearts, we remember that we have finite hours. This prayer is for the party planner. […]
Learning to Live Lightly: Shedding the Weight of Unforgiveness
For those of who have a hard time forgiving ourselves and would love to remember that we are God’s girl. On our trip to London and Edinburgh, my husband and I lugged four suitcases, a backpack, a bag and a purse across 5,400 miles, three airports, and two continents over the course of 10 days. […]
How to Rescue a Bad Day (by giving yourself grace)
Have you ever had a day where you felt overwhelmed, insufficient and unkind right out of the gate? This is the story of how my no-good day was rescued. My no-good day started the night before when I didn’t sleep well, causing me to hit snooze so I missed my quiet time. I walked out to […]
The Achiever’s Dirty Little Secret
Five weeks after having our youngest, I woke up in the middle of the night to the feeling of an elephant sitting on my chest. I couldn’t breathe, and the chest pressure was excruciating. Being the Aggie that I am, I thought the trouble was wardrobe related. I must be overheating because of my sweatshirt. What I […]
When You Don’t Like Change, and You Have a God Who Does
When you grow up in Houston, you joke that there are two seasons: hot and hotter. It wasn’t until we moved to Arkansas that I understood that seasons weren’t just for wall calendars. Trees really do change color, apples are most crisp in the fall, snow falls in the winter, and the spring is always […]
How Not to Talk to a Hurting Friend
As an Achiever, I like to fix things. If you bring me a problem, I move into default mode of problem solving. But sometimes, my friends don’t need me to wave a magic wand and make things better. As an Achiever, I make three mistakes in talking with my hurting friends when instead I should […]
Why We Obsess about Our Calling
During my second season of working for the Houston Astros, I witnessed the worst and strangest game I’ve ever seen. Astros starting pitcher Scott Elarton threw fifty-five pitches and gave up nine runs in two innings. Nineteen San Diego Padres went to the plate and loaded the bases three times. It was a bloodbath, and […]
An Achiever Goes Rogue
My name is Jill, and I am a first-time blogger and long-time reader of blogs. I’m a native Texan, an Aggie, wife of one, mother of two, sometimes runner – sometimes baker – never crafter, lover of sports, and follower of Jesus. (Not necessarily in this order, but you get the point.) The bottom line […]