We sat in the waiting room, just us and the older woman. She sweetly tried to draw Margaret out – saying hi, complimenting her hair. Despite our nudges, Margaret just shyly stared back. After some more attempts and some laughs over Margaret’s shyness, the lady light-heartedly said, “I have to ask, is she used to … Continue reading We Sat in the Waiting Room…
Yesterday, we stood before our church and dedicated our girl. But if I’m honest, I was distracted with the day, thinking on everything but the eternal. I was distracted by the mundane – Will she cry during the dedication? Is her bow still on? I wish I had more dress options for myself. Her naps … Continue reading Hair Bows and Bronze Bows
Since Margaret was born five-and-a-half weeks ago, I’ve nursed roughly 280 times – about 92 hrs altogether – often from right here on our couch, looking out these windows (at more sunrises than I would care to in a month), “just sitting.” All this time “just sitting” has been harder for me than I expected. … Continue reading Food for Thought
When I started writing here, I was determined to be genuine and “raw” with where the “next three feet” in life were going. I still have that same determination, but I have recently shied away from practicing it, sometimes out of busy-ness, but more often out of fear of sharing my vulnerable thoughts and how … Continue reading The Pregnant Pause
In 2016, Chad and I had our first Valentine’s Day “together,” though we were actually 494 miles apart in the thick of long distance. Chad, being the quirky, charming, and culinary guy that he is, left a “Valentine’s” quiche for me in my parents’ freezer… yes, a quiche. Not only that, but he apparently arranged a heart … Continue reading Valentine’s Quiche (Whole 30, Paleo)
In a recent Instagram post, I reflected on God’s faithfulness in redeeming the difficult cross-country move my family made from Indiana to North Carolina when I was sixteen years old. Where I felt like all was torn away in that move, the Lord showed that He takes away only to give something better: Himself. And … Continue reading The False Theology of Faithfulness
There’s the common saying that “familiarity breeds contempt.” I would argue that familiarity can also breed indifference or passiveness, specifically when it comes to familiar sin. We can’t always see our sin; it doesn’t always appall us; and we don’t always know how to actively change. Like a familiar path we don’t have to think … Continue reading A Path Unknown
I wanted to take a break from “regularly scheduled programming” to share some current favorites going into this fall: I actually got this idea from Lore Ferguson Wilbert and her “Link Love” posts. I have been hooked on Lore’s writing for about a year now as she shares with humble truth what is both painfully … Continue reading A Few Fall Favorites
It has been a hard week of conflict for me and Chad. The hardest it has been. I don’t intend to divulge the what and how of our conflict. But as He faithfully does, God has “restored what the locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25) by redeeming the broken darkness of conflict with the wholeness of … Continue reading Darkness as Light
The next three feet in life have taken a couple bends in the road for us recently, resulting in an overdue silence in my writing. Chad has been in the process of changing jobs. I’m still at the zoo, but I’ve also begun some editing work for Morning by Morning (check it out!). We both … Continue reading When the plates fall down…
THE NEXT THREE FEET 