Kara’s Collection: Death and Life

Kara’s Collection: Death and Life

from an article originally posted June 4, 2014...

In the corners of all stories, there is a quiet story. It’s the sad story of loss. This week the loss hit a little closer. You know the story, you have heard people tell it in hushed tones. I have heard people quietly tell of the loss of someone and then sheepishly eye me. And, in that look, I know I don’t need to ask how the person died. I simply know it’s cancer. You hurt that the person will leave you anxious that they brought up the death of another. A death involving cancer.

Kara’s Collection: Embracing Life Amid Pain

Kara’s Collection: Embracing Life Amid Pain

rom an article originally posted June 3, 2014...

Choices, always choices meet us in our daily living. I have often talked to friends of the pull of the darkened room where I am tempted to spend endless hours facing a screen and checking out of living. The pull is not a light one—it’s a strong, desperate pull to stop. To quit. To check out. I still have suffocating moments that steal my peace and leave me ragged. Most evenings are a battle for peace before sleep. That is why I posted yesterday about the struggle in going, going, going. But if I’m truly honest, my going is a result of my fear of stopping—stopping and never getting going again. And perhaps if we are all honest, our going is so we don’t have to look at the condition of our hearts. I know that is my fear. If I slow, I stop, I listen, I might hear the depth of my sadness. But there is a lie in that fear, isn’t there. Yes, I know the sadness to be true, but what if I faced it? Would I be left?

Wednesday Bookclub: Befriend, Chapters 8 & 9

Wednesday Bookclub: Befriend, Chapters 8 & 9

Oh, friends, wasn’t Chapter 8 so beautiful?! I read it so slowly, soaking in the beauty and the wisdom. Chapter 8 is Befriend True Friends and Significant Others, in which Sauls compares the covenant nature of biblical relationships to the consumerism practiced in modern day relationships, including both romantic relationships and close friendships. He talks about the importance of being known, oh glory! He asserts, I need you to call my bluff. You need me to call your bluff too.

Kara’s Collection: Distant Hearted Living

Kara’s Collection: Distant Hearted Living

from an article originally posted June 2, 2014...

Yesterday I was asked how my summer had started. My simple answer was that it started at a pace that was leaving me frayed and edgy. I struggled with sleep last night and my night thoughts are always a battle for truth and peace. This morning I woke and slowed down. My oldest woke first to the loud sounds of the trash truck and snuggled in my bed. She then lived as my shadow through my morning routine. Snuggled in bed we quietly woke as we watched Jason ready for his day. He talked with us through his day of appointments and asked over my plans. His day, full—mine, not so much. I needed a slow, slow morning.

Costly Criticism

Costly Criticism

For the past 10 years, our family’s striving and vision has been for an open-home policy. It’s not for everyone, but it works for us (at least for the time being). We encourage the kids to bring their friends home, and we thrive when people know they can just show up at our door without calling beforehand. I know it sounds like a nightmare for some of you! But, it’s the kind of house I always dreamed of having.