DEEP WATERS

I hate to be the bearer of bad news. But... This holiday season, it seems I just keep hearing about one sad situation after another. Here's a sampling of a few: A teen girl struggling with life-altering anxiety and depression A young mom of two beginning chemotherapy after undergoing a double mastectomy A mom of two adopted kids out of work and facing the threat of homelessness And the very worst of all... The mama whose mental illness and hopelessness led her to take her own life - just weeks before Christmas. The holidays can be a wonderful time filled with faith, family and fun.  The holidays can also be a difficult time, a time when problems magnify, at least in our own minds.   What makes matters worst is that it's also a time we assume we should be happy and joyful. After all, Christmas is a time that we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. We sing... Joy to the World, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King! We sing beautifu...

T'was the day before Christmas, when all through the house... I wish I could say not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse in my home. But... we still have gift-wrapping to do and grocery shopping and cooking and baking. And yet, I had to take a break from my holiday preparations to write the final post in this blog series. As I've connected with friends and family members, it seems I'm not the only one grieving loved ones this season. And I'm certainly not the only one working through hurts and disappointments and major life transitions. So if you, or someone you love, is balancing loss and grief while also celebrating the most precious Gift we've ever received - our Savior, Jesus Christ - this post is for you. In my first two posts, I shared the two ways to help a grieving loved one during the holidays: expressing empathy and the Gift of Presence . Today I want to share another. It's pretty simple, but I've had confirmation over the last f...

When I reflect on my family's recent relocation back to Tennessee, I think of all that moving brings. Change. Excitement. Intrigue.  Moving can be a really cool "reset button"... Giving us the opportunity to begin again, experience a season of renewal, reinvent ourselves even. I've experienced all these joys since we've moved back to Tennessee. Some days I'm overwhelmed with the blessing of moving to a city we love and reconnecting with precious friends we made during our first season in Franklin. An added bonus: we've been blessed to meet new friends and begin jobs with wonderful ministries - New Hope Academy for me and Nashville Rescue Mission for Anthony. But moving has another side... Like almost any other major change it brings a whole other list of things. Stress. Disorientation. Grief. Along with the reset button of relocation comes the reminder of all the wonderful things and people we left behind in Arkansas - and in Northern Virg...