The Cut Makes me Whole {31 Days}

I’ve always been very opinionated about everything. When I was a freshman in college, everything was black and white to me. One right way to do everything. I had a set of standards for how life worked. And I was right, of course. Only, I was wrong. Not everything in life is absolute. See, when […]

Following a New Adventure {31 Days}

Ever had one of those crazy ideas from God you can’t wrap your mind around? I lived at home for 4 years after I graduated from high school, helping at home, cleaning houses for a living, and writing constantly. One fall a homeschool support group asked me to guest teach in their creative writing class. […]

Tales from Homeschool Days {31 Days}

Mom homeschooled me until I graduated from high school, aka Peaceful Prairie Academy. New homeschooling moms often ask about my experience. “Did you like it? Was it worth it?” Here’s my rundown. As a shy Kindergartener, I loved that I didn’t have to go to the enormous Christian school where my aunts and uncles went. […]

Softening Hardened Hearts {31 Days}

I started cleaning houses when I was 16, mostly for elderly people. Today my story is about the grumpiest person I’ve ever known, and the most endearing. Ruth lived in a little house that had stepped straight out of 1970. It had barely aged a day, probably because it never saw the sunlight, tucked behind […]

Hunting for Approval {31 Days}

My grandpa discovered hunting when our family moved from Florida to Kansas. He bought a muzzleloader rifle among other guns and for a few years went deer hunting with it. Then the novelty wore off, but he always loved guns. I was his oldest granddaughter and called him “Pal.” I liked to shoot his guns […]

Beauty of Being Home {31 Days}

You can take a girl out of Kansas, but you can’t take Kansas out of the girl. When I moved to Iowa, I got digs all the time about how boring Kansas was. I got all worked up about it, which made the digs worse. I’m done getting worked up about it now, but I […]

Summer Camp Stories {31 Days}

God used a summer camp called Sooner Bible Camp so much in my life. That’s where you could find me every summer at the beginning of June from fourth through twelfth grade. As we’d drive down to the camp in Oklahoma, we’d be bouncing up and down in the van watching through the trees for […]

Living Faith in the Face of Death {31 Days}

Before I turned 14 death wasn’t very real to me. But that changed. I loved playing basketball on a homeschool team. I built so many friendships. There weren’t many Kansas teams, so we traveled far to play each other often. Many families involved followed Christ, so we became a close-knit community. My freshman year our […]

A Turning Point {31 Days}

Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy. One who is full loathes honey, but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet. Proverbs 27:5-7 Have you ever been jarred awake by the confrontation of a friend? It’s shocking, but if […]

Gods of Idolatry {31 Days}

In my last post I referred to people pleasing as an idol I worship. Today I’m writing about when God showed me the truth of idolatry in my life. I was 14. Instant messaging was popular but my dad didn’t feel like it was safe (because of online ambiguity). But mentally I justified chatting with […]