Simplifying… me

Today, we have a guest post written by my husband, Joel Slater. Raising boys with special needs is not a one-parent job. Joel and I each bring our own perspectives, gifts, abilities, and experiences into this parenting journey. We are both being refined through the process, but it oftentimes looks and feels a little different. [...]

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For the joy of the Lord is your strength.
Nehemiah 8:10
Disappointment.
It often comes when we least expect it.
Hopes held high only to be crushed with an unquestionable, “No.”
Doors closing.
Prayers seemingly unanswered when we’ve waited for so long.
We’ve all been there.
There are no exceptions.
Disappointment is a shared human experience.
If we struggle to find common ground in this [...]

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Let every heart prepare him room.
Joy to the World, written by Isaac Watts (1719)
Our college kids will be home for Christmas soon!
Floors are being swept and mopped while beds are being made.
A menu has been prepared with much-loved home-cooked meals.
The fridge is stocked, and favorite snacks are in the cupboard.
Our home is being prepared for [...]

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The door is on the latch tonight,
The hearth-fire is aglow,
I seem to hear soft passing feet —
The Christchild in the snow.
My heart is open wide tonight
For stranger, kith or kin;
I would not bar a single door
Where love might enter in.
Author Unknown
Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would come.
A heavy darkness had settled upon the world, [...]

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Hot and dry. A thick orangey-red haze coated the landscape as I stepped out of the Lilongwe International Airport. I pushed the heavy cart loaded with maybe three or four suitcases and a large trunk wrapped with luggage straps to keep them from busting open. Brooklyn and Jackson, my siblings, pushed their own carts piled [...]

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Joel and I recently read the Chronicles of Narnia series with Jasper at bedtime. Last night we finished book number five: The Horse and His Boy. I am going to be honest, after The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, the other books in this series have been very difficult for me to get through. [...]

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For just a moment, let’s think about Joseph the Dreamer.
We find his story in the book of Genesis. Anyone who grew up going to church will be quite up to speed with this story. I can still see the flannel graph pictures of Joseph surrounded by bales of wheat bowing in his direction during those [...]

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The Comrades Marathon
Today, over 20,000 individuals from all over the world have converged upon Durban, South Africa, to participate in the prestigious Comrades Marathon.
The race was conceptualized by a South African World War I veteran, Vic Clapham. After enduring a 27,000 kilometer walk through German, East Africa—witnessing the physical and mental challenges that he and [...]

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Death and mourning. Sadness and despair.
It seemed the story was over. Christ had died and his body lay in a tomb. It was the end of an era as far as anyone could tell.
There was weeping, mourning, uncertainty, and confusion.
What next?
Mary Magdalene stood at the empty grave…certainly, there must be some explanation. Her heart gave [...]

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A crucifixion.
The events of Good Friday were filled with a kind of drama that we cannot fully comprehend. It was ugly. The worst of human nature spilled out into every street and every corner of the city. Jealousy and envy had blossomed into hate, and hate burned hot. All of life, nature, and the whole [...]

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