A week for the history books
This week one of my daughters said, "I'm tired of living through history." We've been telling our girls for almost a year that "This is a historic moment!" and "You'll be able to say you remember when this happened." But truth is we're all kind of exhausted by...
Listening to the Direction of the Sirens: Guns, Schools, and Mental Health
I cried in my kitchen last night. I had just heard that one of the students shot at STEM school in Highlands Ranch died. It felt too close. A half hour drive from my house, I have many friends who live in the Denver suburb. I visit churches there. I’ve been with the...
Holy Saturday
“A neighborly life marinates in the Saturday life.” -Alexandra Kuykendall, Loving My Actual Neighbor Holy Saturday falls between two days: Good Friday and Easter Sunday. On one side is the grief of the cross, the sin of humanity that...
Denver: This is a Week to Love Our Neighbors
Denver teachers are striking. Parents are scrambling to make plans as their days are disrupted. We are all a little unsure of how this week will unfold. Emotions are high. With a high schooler, middle schooler, and two elementary students in Denver Public Schools,...
Setting Your Christmas Up For Success
The calendar has turned and we are here...November! Our schedules will likely start to fill, our spending increase, and tensions might run a bit high. Don't worry, this Christmas can be different. You may not be able to control everything, but you can control a few...
Border Trip: Initial Thoughts and Chance to Chat Live
A few Saturdays ago I stood on the sidelines of my daughter’s soccer game. Her team played on the middle field of the park, other games going on simultaneously on either side of us. Right before half time I noticed all of the girls in the game behind me were on a...
I Cannot Unsee What I Have Seen
“Ears that hear and eyes that see— the Lord has made them both.” –Proverbs 20:12 I felt my sore throat before I got on the plane to start my trek home. By my connecting flight my nose was running and by the time I walked in my kitchen I was full-fledged sick. It...
Why I’m Headed to the Border
I’m writing this from 30,000 feet. Honestly not my favorite spot to be. I’m a bit of a nervous flier with a family of five at home. I prefer my feet on solid ground. But I’ve been invited to travel to Texas on what felt like something I must do. We have many...
What Christmas in July Really Means
There's a ‘Christmas in July’ trend. From retail sales to themed summer parties, we may have finally arrived at the Christmas season lasting all year long. When I’ve seen or heard the expression this month, I’ve remembered a few interviews I had last Christmas....
Gratitude, Remembering, and Sending Kids to Young Life Camp
It's May, so of course I'm running. It's the end of year EVERYTHING. Parties and games and concerts. Not to mention teacher gifts, Mother's Day, and in our house a birthday and anniversary. But this Memorial Day I'm literally running. And remembering. Remembering the...
Summer Book Club: A Planner’s Guide (and 50% off)
Hey book club planners. I know you're out there. I'm starting to get questions from you about upcoming book prices and such. Which leads me to do some summer thinking: open schedules, kids at home, hot days, and summer reading. In May my publisher is offering a 50%...
The New Year, Dirty Dishes, and Small Steps
I’m waking up this morning to a mess in my kitchen. A huge hole in my row of lower cabinets, a sink overflowing with dirty dishes, and a new dishwasher turned on its side waiting for someone to install it into that gaping hole. This is not the fresh start, clean...
Advent Begins Today. It doesn’t have to be complicated.
Advent, the season of preparation for Christmas, begins today. This news is not meant to bring you stress, but a reminder that we can settle in to the holiday. Now is a practical time of preparation, we are starting the decorating, shopping, planning, but it is also a...
Loving My Actual Christmas Releases Today
Hey there. I know. Christmas?! Now? It hit 97 degrees this weekend in Denver, a bit difficult to get into the Christmas spirit. And yet, we've switched that calendar day over and we are now officially past Labor Day. Which means we are on one fast slide toward...
A Mom’s Back to School Reading List
It's that time of year. Our kids get their back to school supply lists and we remember that August is an expensive month. But don't you feel a little jealous? Those pencil boxes and Trapper Keepers get me in the mood for something new. A new challenge. New lesson. New...
Join the Loving My Actual Christmas Launch Team! (Applications accepted through August 12)
Who's ready to be thinking all things Christmas in August?! No one really is I realize. But in just four weeks I have a Christmas book releasing into the world and I'd love a few friends to get in the holiday spirit with me (even if it's happening in 85 degree weather...
Loving My Actual Christmas, The Group Leaders’ Guide
The calendar has changed. And well it means it's all downhill from here and soon we will be coasting right past Thanksgiving and heading into Christmas. If you're like me, you'd like to be a planner, but usually you just wish you'd started a little earlier. This post...
Where I’ve Been
It’s been a while since I’ve posted here. I’m sure no one has been dying to know where I’ve been, but maybe those visiting this spot for the first time have found it a bit of a ghost town. And it’s hard to describe in words exactly where I've been which is why I’ve...
A Mom’s Back to School List for Loving Her Actual Life
I'm always a bit sad when my kids go back to school. In the summer that is. After winter break I am ready for a fresh start. It's probably part the whole New Year's resolution fresh start thing, part cabin fever being stuck inside with the frigid cold and lots...
Learning to Love My Overwhelmed Self (A guest post and book giveaway)
Alex here and I will tell you I'm officially overwhelmed. Yep we still have almost a week of Christmas break left at our house (I mean really nearly 3 weeks of vacation for these kids?!) and I have a book deadline on the 15th. It's going to be very cold and snowy...