by James Brannan Have you ever had one of those Sundays where things did not exactly go as planned? I am not talking about the normal weekly battle to get everyone to stop arguing, get dressed, eat breakfast, and out the door to get to church on time. I am talking about when you think life is going in one direction, but God has other plans? In April of 2017, God had one of those divine appointments lined up for our family. I was sitting in church with two of my children getting prepared for worship when a woman named Cindy sat on our … Read More

by Megan Johnson What if the greatest lie that Satan whispers to us is: ‘prove yourself’?~ Ann Voskamp It’s officially summer! Summer brings freedom. Or does it?   I don’t know about you, but for me, how I parent can be a major proving ground, an idol, and an identity maker. What a burden to live under! Just when I think I’m free from some of that, during the summer months, I’m quickly overwhelmed with ideas for activity charts, chore schedules, and ways to make this summer the most amazing one ever. Whew! All of this drains me pretty quickly and I’m left wondering: am I enough to … Read More

by Kelsi Drake Recently I’ve been reminded of just how simply incredible the gospel truly is as I’m seeing my kids absorb it for the first time. As someone who grew up attending church, it’s easy for me to gloss over the value of my salvation and God’s love for me, almost as if it’s running in the background of my mind. It sometimes stops me in my tracks when my kids ask me a basic question like “Why did Jesus have to die on the cross?” (which is a question on repeat from our 2 year old right now), … Read More

by Caroline Adobah The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Romans 16:20 Towards the end of my twelve hour urgent care shift, my husband, Mel, texted, “Nora just took about six steps.” You parents know that feeling, “She can walk!” I was sad I wasn’t there for those first steps but grateful to hear about my 11-month-old baby’s healthy development. My job as a PA (in the urgent care during the demands of winter) is stressful, but the news lightened the rest of my shift. It made … Read More

by Britta Campbell Luke 6:45 says, “…. for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” This verse has been impressed upon my mind recently as I have seen it play out in my life and the lives of my children. Have you ever been reading a book to your child, for what feels like the hundredth time, and suddenly they are reading it to you? Have you accidentally said a bad word (only once!) to sadly discover it has been repeated half a dozen times by your child over the next week? Our minds, and those of our … Read More

by Halle Sexton Once, I heard a preacher spend a few minutes talking about how sinful we all are and how we daily forsake God. Very Romans 3:10-18. I was already well aware of my sin nature, but he really laid the conviction on thick. Then he told us he had a question that might trick us. He asked how we thought God felt about us. I’ve always been taught that God loves me. It’s always the “correct” Sunday school answer. So I thought that surely that was the answer the preacher expected of us. Except he had said there … Read More

by Billy Eutsey If you were a fly on the wall of the Eutsey home lately, I think you’d leave with a few take-aways: 1. I think you’d probably roll with laughter if you could hear some of the things Charlotte says to us, and you’d melt when Hunter waddles around and blows kisses to everyone.2. You would definitely admire the kindness and grace Sarah Beth extends to me when I act more like Jackie Gleason than Mr. Cleaver.3. And, you’d probably recognize that our life is characterized by arrhythmia and clutter – we’re often exhausted by it.  We were … Read More

by JJ Nelson Sarah and I are excited to know that God has been preparing us and is present with us in this most important responsibility of discipling our children. Our son Rawlin is two years old and we can’t wait to meet our beautiful daughter Hannah due in September! Life is full as we navigate new areas of parenting with Rawlin, learning together as he is learning and developing so much.  We have been on a difficult journey the past 7 months with a high risk pregnancy that has humbled us in many ways. This season has required countless … Read More

by Caroline Almand I often think, “I didn’t focus enough on Scripture memory this week. I should have used that recent situation as a teachable moment to point to Jesus. We need to be doing more family Bible studies, family devotions, and family journals. I am missing opportunities to encourage serving others and missions because I’m not finding community-based options for my family. Why haven’t I read aloud more missionary biographies at bedtime?” On and on this goes… “Why am I not doing more to show my family Jesus? My parenting is a failure!” All of these parenting tasks are so … Read More

by Jessica Ly In the Ly household, it feels like we have been in a season of change for years now. If I look back over the last 4 to 5 years, something huge has changed in our family almost every 6 months. We have gone through job losses, added children to the family, added international students to our family, lost loved ones, been isolated by the pandemic (like everyone else), and more. Most recently, we’ve gone through the biggest transition yet:  going from one-on-one defense to man-to-man defense with our kids. Adding our third child has been a transition that we truly … Read More