Kara’s Collection: Life without a Bucket List

Kara’s Collection: Life without a Bucket List

From an article originally posted September 20, 2013…

I can confidently say I don’t live with a long list of things I want to do, see, complete before I’m done in this place. I carried a dream for years of having a farm. I was in love with all things Wendell Berry and my grandparents. I could picture it—I wanted the life of routine created by the land, but beyond that I have never longed for checking off and conquering a list. I’m happy with my old cars, my simple wardrobe, my lack of fancy things and vacations. I love a good concert, but I also love an organic dance party in my kitchen. I love great food, but I also love a hot dog over the fire in my back yard. I love a hike in the mountains, but I also love a walk around the block with my people.

And It Was Beautiful: Today is the day!

And It Was Beautiful: Today is the day!

Confession: I started to text Kara today. I was thinking about something she said about parenting with kindness, and I wanted to tell her that I am exactly where she was in her journey when she said that. Almost immediately, I realized what I was doing. I tried to pull myself up by my bootstraps by thinking, Ha! That was weird. She would have chuckled. Anyway, back to cleaning the kitchen…

But I couldn’t get back to cleaning the kitchen. I was so shocked that after almost a year of not texting Kara, I would try. I was devastated that my text would disappear into thin air, never to be read by my friend. The tears fell as I grieved her all over again. For the millionth time.

Kara’s Collection: My Dirty Secret

Kara’s Collection: My Dirty Secret

From an article originally posted September 9, 2013…

I have a weakness, a terrible weakness that regularly shows its ugly head. At the heart of this ugly secret is a struggle with wanting my own plan. I struggle when God interrupts my plans with His plans. This typically shows up in small, mundane situations. Most often, it shows up when an illness enters our home. Oh my soul, I’m the worst when it comes to taking pain and sickness seriously. Isn’t that funny? Someone who spent a year sick, interrupting everyone’s life with her illness, doesn’t show up when sickness happens in her own home. It’s true. It’s terrible. I do a lot of, “Oh, you’re fine, go sit on the potty and drink some water.” Or, like last night, “You didn’t hurt your knee, you’re fine.”

Community Series: Searching for Community—5 Big Mistakes

Community Series: Searching for Community—5 Big Mistakes

When Aaron and I got married, we enjoyed snippets of community in our first few years as a family but ultimately came to the conclusion that we were designed for more—designed for intimate relationships with several people, doing life side by side, being known and loved for who we were. We longed for the kind of community that wouldn’t shame us but would embrace us when we struggled, that would remind us of our identity in Christ when we forgot. And whom we could love in the same ways.