He didn’t know this visit would hurt. He didn’t know to ask if they would pinch or poke him. He bounced into the hospital in his Spiderman costume, looking for stickers and suckers, knowing just how to wrap people around his little finger with charm. I knew what lay ahead for my son. My heart…

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…but we’re going to the hospital anyway. For several weeks, my children have asked, “When is it going to snow?” After the first few times, I got a little snarky. “I don’t know. God makes the weather. Talk to Him.” Always quick with a comeback, the youngest stomped through rain puddles he wanted to be…

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It was a difficult, tiring week. We’re making arrangements for children for an overnight visit to the hospital next week. We’re facing sinful hearts and sinful tongues. We’re practicing truth-telling, humility, helpfulness, and respect. And I’m battling selfishness and despondence by counting a thousand (or more) gifts with Ann. 11. The kids’ joy at the…

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This week’s Faith Jam at The Faith Barista is on our dreams for Christmas. At first, I wasn’t going to write anything because I don’t have any dreams for Christmas this year. We went through the motions for the kids two years ago. It was just 2 months after our oldest daughter had died, and…

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Life has a way of turning upside-down for everyone. It happens in a flash. One minute everything lies before you like a farm valley in July, ripe with possibilities and opportunities. The next, the ground rips apart and it all disappears into a dark ugly chasm… and you’re falling headlong into it. And it’s precisely…

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I feel normal. That has not been normal for… years. Last fall I finally acknowledged the stormy fog in which I trudged, halted, sometimes crumbled, constantly denied. It was depression, or for those of you who shy away from psychology, it was a dark night of the soul. My dark night. My soul. “Dark” doesn’t…

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