Encouragement for your Soul
Anger! It is a highly charged emotion. Growing up as a pastor’s kid, I felt like anger was an emotion that I should keep under wraps. In my church world, I felt the answer to all questions was supposed to be “blessed.” As an adult, God has recently taught me a lesson that has changed my view of anger altogether. Continue reading “From Anger to Forgiveness!”
Samuel 3:3 The Lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. (ESV)
Ever been in a conversation between people of different generations? You know the ones where someone older tells you, “We had to walk five miles in the snow, uphill to get to school.” Or maybe it was you and it sounded more like this, “When we were kids we had to get up off the couch to change the channel.” Continue reading “Dwell”
We are living in a time that glorifies very specific things about women. The barrage of media confirms its love of women that are constantly working. They have perfect houses, magazine styled nurseries, perfectly dressed children, picture perfect dinners, no dishes in the sink, fruit cut and prepped at all times on the counter, and on and on. Many would call women driven to do all of these things Type A personalities.
Thank God for these women that set the standard high, but can I just say that Type B women make the world a balanced place.
It had been a busy day in the Hunt house. We had work, school and sports. The four of us were getting in the door for the first time since leaving before 8 a.m. As we all did the ceremonial unloading of backpacks, purses (well just mine) and work bags, Christian turned on the television to relax for a bit. As Full House hit the screen, Christian realized it was more than half over and said, “Ahh, I missed the conflict!” I stopped in my tracks and turned to ask him what he meant and he began to explain what he had said. “Mom, all stories have different elements. They have characters, a setting, a conflict and a resolution. The conflict is just part of the story.”
Profound Painting – A Girls’ Night Out
I recently had the unique opportunity to join forces with one of my very talented friends to organize a Girls’ Night Out Painting Night. My friend, Christy is a triple threat. She is a talented artist, a gifted teacher and a leader among women.
As the school year was coming to an end, we went for our usual jog in Bear Creek park. As group leaders at our church, we began anticipating the need for a fun event and/or reason in the summer for our friends to get together. As we brainstormed the idea of a Girl’s Night came to mind and what that could look like. While I have zero artistic ability, I do have a unique love for bringing women together, and thanks to my time with the PTA, I have experience planning events. I won’t spend time advertising the PTA here, but I am a fan.
A few years ago I was chatting with a friend who’d come to my home for a visit. We both had little kids who seemed always to be at our feet. Conversation was sporadic at best and we could count in the course of a night the number of sentences we actually completed. It was the end of the year and we were discussing the church-wide fast for January.
We would start a sentence and then change a diaper, start a sentence and then fill a sippy cup, start a sentence and then dart to save a little one from falling off a chair. Do you see a pattern? It is amazing that I remember anything from that night, but I do. I distinctly remember my friend talking about what God had put on her heart to fast – and she was excited. What?
It was the Christmas season and my little man, Koda, could not contain his excitement to see Santa. I mentioned to him that Santa would be at his brother’s school, and he immediately needed a better understanding of when he would see Santa. He questioned me on the date and how many times he would sleep before that day. At the time, Koda was 3 and really struggled to understand the difference between today, tonight and tomorrow. I tried to tell him that it was still a few days off in the hopes that it would end the relentless questions I was enduring. Each day he would ask again if he would see Santa today, tonight or tomorrow.
My husband, Kam, and I have been blessed with great friends over the years. This past year a friend called to tell me that she and her husband wanted to bless us with an automatic garage door opener. Although we bought our house new, it did not come with a garage door opener. They wanted it to be a surprise for Kam and they wanted to take care of the details.
Imagine this: you get a call that you have a very wealthy relative that has died. He left directions to ask you to decide three things you have always wanted and there is no cap on the requests. Wow! That is huge. If you have ever been on a budget and received a gift card to your favorite store, you know the deep thought that is engaged to decide how best to use that money. You want to make sure you account for every dime.