Simplifying… me

Ms. Shaffer was notorious for driving poor, unsuspecting seventh grade students to tears with her ruthless grading scale and sharp-witted tongue. She was a legend at Rosslyn Academy, who we truly believed coined the phrases: “empty vessels make the most noise,” “little things amuse little minds,” and – probably my favorite – “open mouth, insert [...]

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It was only a few short hours after writing and posting Monday’s blog that I received the frantic and fuming phone call from Joel that, “My tire just blew out!  It’s in shreds!”
He was on his way to pick up my mom and dad (whom we haven’t seen in over three years because they’re missionaries to [...]

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Sydney was upset last night.  I don’t know if her internal angst was authentic, or if she was grasping at straws to find a way to stay up a little later.  In any case, she was feeling down and needed a moment to process.  In true drama queen fashion, Sydney burst out with, “Why is [...]

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If you had a superpower what would it be?  I think mine might be invisibility.  Maybe it’s because of my reserved temperament, or what feels like years of dust accumulating on me as I sit on a shelf waiting for my moment to do something great for God.  Maybe it has nothing to do with [...]

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I’m racing the clock to get something posted this morning.  This is not my usual way of operating.  I like to be organized, thorough and have my posts for the next week written on Friday.  It saves me time, and still allows me to stay on top of things. 
 
I had written something for today, but [...]

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2 Corinthians 9:15
“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”
 
A few months ago, I hammered out my thoughts on being blessed.  “What does it mean to be blessed?” was my question.  Revisiting the post, a wave of “writer’s remorse” washed over me.  The thought seemed unfinished, but I needed more time to process and more [...]

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“It’s not about me.”
If I had a quarter for every time I’ve heard that statement – whether from notable church leaders, speakers, bloggers or just super gifted every-day people – I’d be a millionaire.  I caught myself today, as I was praying, saying that very same thing, “Lord, it’s not about me.”  (I, by the way, [...]

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Last week I was one twitch away from losing my sanity when, as I was driving to pick Sydney up from school, Brooklyn piped up from behind me, “I need to go potty.”  Which triggered something in Jackson and he echoed her plea, “I need to go potty, too!”  Even with the destination two minutes [...]

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I’ve done one or two difficult things in my life.  And by difficult, I mean, things that pushed me beyond my comfort zone and meant taking a risk.  I moved to France in August of 1999.  I lived with a woman who spoke zero English (nada, zilch…not one word of my native tongue).  I bought [...]

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I’m a lucky girl.  I am surrounded by some of the most unbelievable women on. the. planet.  Seriously.  They are phenomenal mothers, wives, friends, cooks, home managers, and coupon clippers.  They are smart, witty, pretty, read their Bibles and pray every day.  It is simply an honor for me to be able to hang out [...]

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