Category Archives: Personal Growth

Love Is Still the Answer

After weeks of quarantine and finishing homeschool, we decided it was time for a vacation and a trip across the country. So I have been offline for three weeks. I didn’t know when we left what was coming and that it would be probably the worst time to take a break from social media and blogging.

finding love in a group of mixed people — Our small group on the day of Matt’s book launch

Our Growth Group

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This picture at this time feels that way. This picture was taken at our house back in September. Every Tuesday night (aside from COVID), this group meets at our house. It’s our growth group or small group. We started as strangers and have become a group of tightly-knit friends. We have had candid discussions about so many topics. We’ve had good times as a group and endured losses as a group.

In this group, we have lost two grandpas, two dads, a mom, an uncle, and a baby. We have walked through those hard times together. We’ve listened and prayed for each other as we’ve lost jobs, changed jobs, and experienced hardships. We’ve also celebrated the birth of two babies, new jobs, new homes, new businesses, book launches, birthday parties, and so much more together.

We are a mixed group of black and white who are simply choosing to do life together and loving every minute of it!

Life Is Messy

Life isn’t always neat and clean. It’s messy. I think that has never been clearer than in times like these. We want our lives to be a neat picture where everything makes sense and looks good, but that’s not reality. The reality is that life is hard. It’s confusing and absolutely heartbreaking at times.

We live in a broken world with broken, sinful people. We can focus on all the evil and wrongdoing around us and be discouraged, disillusioned, and disheartened. Or we can choose to do what we can to make this world a better place.

Love is Still the Answer

We can choose to love others the way we want to be loved. Jesus told his disciples a simple truth that still rings true today. Jesus told his disciples, “People will know you are a follower of Me when you choose to love other people.”

“Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way, I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.” John 13:34,35 MSG

If all of us would choose to simply love those around us, we could do our part to bring change. Loving those around us includes our neighbors, the mailman and garbage guys, the post office and grocery clerks, the employees at the local fast-food restaurants, people in our church, our family, and friends. We must simply choose to love all the people we do life with regardless of skin color, ethnicity, or socio-economic standing.

Does that fix everything, no. But it would be a start in the right direction!

Matt’s Message

My husband, Matt preached a message two Sundays ago that was all about this topic. He does such a better job of addressing the issue than I do. You can listen to that message HERE.

Our Trip Across Country and Our Week at the Beach

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family picture — Picture of our Family at the Beach House

We are finally back home after a trip across the country to Colorado and a week at the beach. It’s been a whirlwind these last several weeks for our family. We left three weeks ago to drive across the country to visit my parents in Colorado. After being stuck at home in quarantine and working hard on projects, it was time to cut loose and enjoy some vacation time as a family. (Warning- Picture overload coming!)

Our Time in Illinois

On the way out to Colorado, we got to stop in Illinois to visit my sister and her husband for a few hours. It was Memorial Day, so we had fun celebrating with them.

Fun with sparklers — Sparkler fun at Aunt Katie and Uncle Brad’s

Our Time in Colorado

view of the Rockies — View of the Rockies from my parents’ neighborhood

Then it was off to beautiful Colorado for a week. We had a wonderful week with my parents. It was different from our normal vacation because of COVID, but we still had a good time. We got to go up into the mountains and found a few stores that were open in the area. We also got to see extended family and spend some time with our great Grandma. We were sad to leave.

parents at breakfast — My parents enjoying the brunch we had with extended family

grandma and grandkids — Picture with Great Grandma before we left town

Our Time in Kentucky

Too soon, it was time to head back towards home. We got to stop in Kentucky on the way home to spend a few hours with my older sister and her family. I am terrible at taking pictures and only got a few of the cousins in pictures. The kids had fun catching up with each other and were sad to leave the next morning.

cousins hugging each other — Cousin love with Meya

two cousins — Malachi with his cousin Nate

boy sitting in recliner — Our cousin Jace

Our Incredibly Long Trip

We drove and drove and drove and finally made it home. We spent a total of 52 hours driving and drove through a total of twelve states for our trip across the country! We took the northern route going out and the southern route coming home. We were so thankful for God’s protection for all those miles we traveled.

girls sleeping in the car — Madison was such a good big sister, letting Maggie and Macey sleep on her.

Our Trip to the Beach

When we got home, it was time to unpack, do church, then pack for a week at the beach with Matt’s family. We had a great week in Ocean City. The weather was perfect, and we enjoyed spending time together.

kids playing in the sand — Cousins having fun in the sand

girls hugging each other — Maggie with her cousin Jade

Finally Back Home

So after the whirlwind of the last few weeks, we are so happy to be home! After all that fun, it’s time to get back to work! I am happy to be back blogging and writing. I have a book releasing in just a few weeks. So it’s crunch time for me.

Resources for Encouragement

If you’re looking for some encouragement during this time, I list several resources for encouragement in a recent post- My Meltdown this Week and My Reminder.

Family, Quarantine, and House Projects

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These last two months at home have been such a good reminder for me that family is so important, and I need to constantly work on my relationships with each of my kids and my husband. I can’t imagine how horrible it would be right now to be quarantined with people I can’t stand.

The sad thing is, we’re often hardest on those closest to us, usually the people we call family. I know that I tend to be hard on my kids. Sometimes I get into a repeat cycle of noticing all the things they do wrong and forget to notice the good things. Then my kids do something that completely takes me by surprise. That happened to me this week.

Projects Outside

We needed to get cement work done on the sidewalk in front of our house. We had put it off for a while because we really didn’t want to mess with it, but we finally decided it was time to get the work done. So on Thursday, Matt’s brother, who works in construction, came over for the day to help us.

We spent Thursday morning tearing up the sidewalk, digging out dirt, putting in rocks, and eventually pouring cement. Because we were on a roll, we decided to tackle the other projects we had been putting off. So we also stained the back deck and began working on leveling the ground in our backyard so we can eventually get a pool. Cue my happy dance!

Endless Hours of Work

All that cumulated in hours of hard work digging and transporting wheelbarrows full of dirt, rock, and concrete. We pushed hard all day. I couldn’t believe how hard my kids worked. Every time I stopped and looked around, all four of them were working hard. We worked from eight in the morning to eight at night.

At one point, I was too tired and sore to keep working. I had almost finished the deck but just couldn’t do any more. There was one big patch left that needed to be done. I took a break and went inside to grab some water and sit down for a few minutes. Then I headed back outside to help. I couldn’t face the deck, so I went out front of the house to help with transporting wheelbarrows of dirt. When I came to the backyard again a little while later, I was completely shocked to see my two little girls had finished the deck by themselves! I couldn’t believe it!

Remembering What Matters Most

Sometimes I am so hard on my kids that I forget, they really are good kids. I am really blessed to be their mom. Are they perfect? No. Do they drive me crazy sometimes? Yes. Do they fight and bicker constantly? Yes. They’re not perfect, but neither am I.

Working together as a family reminded me again that when it comes down to it, family is what really matters. It’s family that you are going to come back to time and time again. We spend more time with our families than with anybody else in the world. It would make sense that we would invest more in those relationships than we do into any other relationship. Sadly, it’s usually just the opposite. We most often take out our frustration on those closest to us.

It takes sacrifice and an enormous amount of love and patience to continually be kind and loving to those who live with us. But when we do, the payoff is huge. What’s the payoff? Stability, security, a sense of belonging, love, peace, and a sense that everything is going to be okay. It’s everything we want our home to be filled with.

Hands-Free Mama

A great book that deals with this subject is Hands-Free Mama by Rachel Macy Stafford. I read it a few years ago. She teaches soul-to-soul connection with your children. It’s an inspiring and uplifting read that challenged me in this area of paying more attention to my children.

If you want more encouragement on this topic, read Finding the Good Happening in Front of Our Eyes.

My Meltdown this Week and My Reminder

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picture of mom and daughter — My daughter, Maggie and I

My Meltdown

I hit the wall this week. I’ve been doing okay with staying home and life being crazy. I’ve continued to homeschool my kids each day. I’ve kept up with my writing goals and the work I need to accomplish. I kept telling myself, “It’s okay. We will get through this. It’s not much longer.” Then I saw that my part of the world is not going to open until June, and that’s when I lost it. That’s when I had a meltdown.

Suddenly, I didn’t feel like I could do one more day of this quarantine. I wanted everything back to normal like right now! I felt like I was going to go insane!

I spent about three days in this state, totally discouraged, frustrated, at the end of my rope. I didn’t feel like homeschooling or doing my work, I was frustrated with my kids, and felt overwhelmed with life. I kept asking God to help me snap out of it. I finally made myself sit down and think about what was really bothering me and making me so frustrated. I finally was able to pin it down. It was the fact that I didn’t see an end in sight.

Choosing to Focus On Today and Avoid the Meltdown

God brought to mind a lesson I thought I learned about two years ago that I needed to be reminded of again. I needed to be reminded to just take it one day at a time. Just focus on what I need to do today to get through. If I would have remembered that, I probably could have avoided my three-day meltdown. Once I let that thought take root, I finally had peace for the first time in three days. God calmed my heart. I focused on what I needed to do that day and let everything else go.

I didn’t think about the beach trip that we missed because of the Coronavirus. I chose not to think about the fact that I couldn’t be in Illinois helping my sister and her family pack so they could move to Kentucky. I decided not to try to figure out when and how we would reschedule our trip to see my family in Colorado. I pushed thoughts away from trying to figure out when we would be able to have church again, when I would be able to go to Barnes and Noble or the library or the park again, and took a deep breath and just focused on today. Because something I learned but had to remind myself of again is that in the midst of a difficult time, the best thing I can do is focus on what I need to do to get through today.

Our Season of Difficulty

About two years ago, God took our family through a difficult season. You can read more about our story in a post I wrote- 5 Ways to Move Forward After a Difficult Season. Matt and I have spent a lot of time talking about what God took us through. We think it’s not a coincidence that God took us through a season of testing and great financial difficulty about two years before Coronavirus would hit. God knew our friends and family and those we minister to would be hit with financial difficulty, job loss, layoffs, reduced pay, frustration, fear of the unknown, and more.

I read a verse in my morning time this week that I feel like sums up where I am at personally after that difficult time in our lives.

As you, God, gently and powerfully put me back on my feet. Psalm 86:17 MSG

I have quickly fallen in love with this verse. I feel like He has gently but powerfully placed me back on my feet. I’ve come through the other side and can offer help and encouragement to those who are in a difficult season right now.

5 Reminders to Make It Through a Difficult Time

When I look back on that time in my life, I think about these five things that helped me to make it through. I needed to be reminded of them again this week.

Just take it one day at a time. Don’t look at tomorrow, next week, or next month. Just focus on making it through today.
Don’t make any big decisions right now. Now is not the time to make major life decisions.
Keep up with your morning time routine, or start one if you don’t already have one. Read my 3 Quick Tips for a Successful Morning Time to get started with a morning time routine. My morning time routine of Bible reading, praying, and journaling was the single most important thing that kept me sane during that difficult time in my life.
Hold on to hope. Keep believing that God will get you through this time because He will. If you lose hope, you lose your ability to make it through.
Write down at least one thing every morning that you are grateful for. During hard times, we lose focus and our bearings on reality. Writing down something every day that is good in our lives is a way to keep us grounded.

The Danger of Walking Away from God

“It is when life is just happening that we are in danger of walking away from God.” from my book, The Hidden Pain: When You Fear God is No Longer Blessing Your Life

If we’re not careful, it’s times like these that we can find ourselves drifting away from God. We’re not attending church, we can’t meet with our small group, our routine is off because we are working from home… If we’re not careful, we will walk away from this time finding ourselves far away from God.

To keep that from happening, we have to choose to stay faithful today. We just have to make it through one more day. Soon enough, we will be on the other side looking back. We will see how God carried us through this difficult season and we stayed faithful during the midst of it.

Resources for Encouragement

books and journals — A few of my resources

If you are looking for a book to read while stuck at home or need a journal for your morning time routine, check out my Amazon Author page for my books and journals.

Being at home and separate from family and friends can make even the most non-people person become lonely and discouraged. Matt and I have created a free ten-day devotional called You Are Not Alone: Discovering the Presence of God in the Promises of God. You can get a copy of this free devotional HERE.

Struggling with Depression During this Time

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older sister helping younger sister ride her bike — Maggie helping Macey ride her bike

I took this picture this week. This is a picture of my six-year-old (Maggie) helping her four-year-old sister (Macey) ride a bike. Every time I see this picture I smile. Why? Well, first of all, because they aren’t fighting… but that’s beside the point.

I smile because it reminds me that everybody needs somebody to come alongside them when life gets rough, and I think right now most of us could use somebody to do that for us.

The Perfect Recipe for Depression

This week, I want to come alongside the person who is struggling with depression and having a hard time making it through this time at home. For people who already struggle with being depressed, being stuck at home for weeks on end away from friends, family, church, work, etc. is a recipe for a disaster. Not all of us struggle with depression, but for some, this is a really serious thing.

I talked to two people this week who are struggling really badly with depression. My heart goes out to you. I get it because I’ve been there. You struggle just to get out of bed each day. Each day is a drudgery; you don’t feel like you can take another day at home. You can barely take care of yourself, let alone your family. Each night, you fall in bed exhausted, only to wake up feeling just as tired. You’ve lost your ability to smile and to see any good or feel any hope for the future.

Feeling the Shame of Depression

To make matters worse, because you can’t do more, you feel shame. You go to bed each night feeling ashamed. The shame of not being what you need to be for your family feels like it’s going to bury you. You know you should do better, but you wake up the next day feeling the same way. Your children push you over the edge, the house is a mess, your husband doesn’t understand, and that all piles up and just makes you feel more guilty. It’s a horrible cycle, and you don’t know how to break the cycle.

I want you to encourage you with this.

For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust. Psalm 103:14 (NLT)

God knows how weak we are. He knows you and how he created you. He knows what you struggle with and how hard this season of life is for you right now. Don’t shame yourself. That just makes matters worse. God remembers that we are weak. That’s why he comes alongside us and makes us strong.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. II Corinthians 12:9 (KJV)

Choose Not to Compare

You scroll through social media and see someone who, because of extra time at home, has cleaned and organized every drawer in their home and has a picture of the inside of their perfectly organized refrigerator and pantry. Meanwhile, you’re just trying to remember to take a shower and keep your kids alive. You don’t know that person’s circumstances; just like they don’t know yours. Don’t compare yourself. Paul reminds us not to compare ourselves to each other in Galatians.

That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original. Galatians 5:26 (MSG)

Choose to Do These Two Things Each Day

If you can, choose to do just these two things each day. They could make a huge difference in your day.

Get a shower and get dressed every morning. I’m not saying clean your house, make three home-made meals, make your bed, organize your kitchen… just get a shower and get dressed. Being clean and dressed for the day can make such a difference and help you feel better about yourself.
Spend a few minutes praying and reading your Bible. For this season of life, keep it simple. Read at least three verses of something encouraging. My advice would be the Psalms. Psalms 16, 18, 23, 30, 46, 91, 100, and 118 are all good choices. Then spend just a few minutes praying and talking to God.

Breathing Life into Your Soul

If you want to do more than that, here are a few ideas. Choose something that breathes life into your soul.

Take a walk. Get some fresh air and feel the sun. Just being outside can lift your spirit.
Get out of the house. Go through the drive-through at Starbucks and get a coffee, or get a sandwich from somewhere. Give yourself a reason to get dressed and out of the house.
Plan a vacation or a special day away for when the quarantine is lifted. Give yourself something to look forward to.
Take a break from social media. You may need to totally remove yourself from the temptation of seeing what others are doing during this time.
Listen to encouraging, uplifting music. This gets our focus off of ourselves and on to God. Music can really encourage your heart.

In seasons of difficulty, you do what you have to simply endure. Do what you need to get through this time. Life will get back to normal, eventually. You will make it through. Just take it a day at a time. Let God’s grace carry you through this season.

Free Bible Study

Matt and I have created a ten-day devotional called You Are Not Alone- Discovering the Presence of God in the Promises of God. You can download the free devotional HERE.

For more encouragement, read a post I wrote when I was struggling with being discouraged- Stay Faithful Because a New Season is Coming.

**If you are really struggling with severe depression, please reach out and get the help you need. There is no shame in that.**

Release What’s Holding You Back?

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balloons released into the sky — Photo credit: Thomas Peham

I got my first one-star review on one of my books this past week. It was on Goodreads. Thankfully, there were no words with it, just the rating. In the past, that would have crippled me from moving forward. It did bring me down for a little bit, but then I remembered that it doesn’t matter in the long run.

The key to keeping your fears and shortcomings from holding you back from accomplishing what God wants you to do is to turn those shortcomings over to God. Paul understood something about this.

A Shortcoming to Stay Humble

Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! II Corinthians 12:7 MSG

God gave Paul the gift of having an incredible vision of what Heaven was like. It would have been easy for Paul to get a big head and preach about his vision rather than about Jesus. Paul tells us that God gave Him a handicap to keep that from happening.

We’re not sure what that handicap was exactly. We just know that Paul said it kept him constantly aware of his limitations and his dependence on God.

Removing the handicap

At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. II Corinthians 12:8,9 MSG

Paul says he didn’t see the handicap as a gift at first. He prayed three times, asking God to take away his handicap. God chooses not to and instead gives him words of encouragement. God tells him, “I’ll give you grace and my strength to endure.” God tells him that His strength works best in weakness. Listen to Paul’s response.

Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. II Corinthians 12:10 MSG

Somehow, Paul found a way to appreciate the shortcoming God had given him. He began to see that his handicap consistently threw him at the feet of Jesus. Then Jesus would give him the strength to accomplish his mission.

What Holds Me Back?

What kept me back for the longest time was two things- my perfectionism and fear of people’s opinions. Let’s just say, being an author and a blogger is the perfect culmination of those two fears! The hardest thing I do each week is click publish on my blog post and push send on my email blast.

A book that I highly recommend if you struggle with pleasing people is Nothing to Prove by Jennie Allen.

I can either let those fears and struggles stop me from moving forward to do what I know God wants me to do, or I can pray and ask God for the words to say and the courage to be able to say it.

Then I push publish and put my post out there. I upload my book to Amazon and surrender the outcome to God.

What’s Holding You Back?

Do you have something that you struggle with and it’s been holding you back over the years? Could it be that the very thing you think is holding you back is the ticket to you moving forward? God is simply waiting for you to release that weakness to Him, so His strength can fill you.

What are the common things that keep us back from feeling like we can be useful to God? The following comes to mind: other people’s opinions, our weight, finances, our looks, personality, a disability, a child with special needs, mental health, instability, anger, our job, feeling unlovable. There are so many things that keep us back from believing God can use us.

Change How You See Your Shortcomings

Maybe it’s time to start seeing that thing that is holding you back as a blessing. That weakness or thing you don’t like about yourself is the very reason that you will continually return to God for His strength and help. Then, filled with God’s strength and power, you can move forward to accomplish what He has for you.

It’s time to release that attitude, thought, fear, or shortcoming. You’ve spent too many years compensating for it and trying in your own strength to make it work. It’s time to see that handicap as a blessing. Let it drive you to your knees. Once you’re there, call out to God for his help and strength. Then rise up and get busy doing what you know God wants you to do.

Start that Dream

Go start that business. Write that book you’ve been pondering for years. Turn that hobby into a business. Start that degree. Sign up for the art class. Set up a shop and begin selling on Etsy. Start a blog. Find a way to get that nonprofit going. Get started with your podcast. Start freelance writing. Get your first customers for your photography business. Stop letting your fears and shortcomings hold you back. Release it and move forward! For more ideas and inspiration, read Start Pursuing Your Dream and Dreaming Big Dreams.

Finding the Good Happening in Front of Our Eyes

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My Trip to the Grocery Store

Finding the good in life right now seems difficult, but it can be done. So funny story for you… I went to my grocery store this week. When I got there, I had to wait in line. When it was finally my turn to go in, I needed to grab a shopping cart. The employee in charge of telling us when we could go into the store was standing directly in front of the carts. I looked inside the store and saw there were no carts except for the ones my buddy was standing in front of. So I moved towards the carts and asked, through my mask of course, “Can I grab one of these carts?” He literally jumped away from me and fell against a trash can to get away from me, like I had leprosy. Then he told me demeaningly, “Yes, but you’re supposed to stay six feet away.” I really wanted to just stand next to him and go, “BOO!”

I walked inside my store and saw that in addition to only letting a few people into the store at a time, they now have one-way aisles and security officers running the line for checkout. I think maybe it’s a little overkill, but that’s just me.

God’s Goodness

Things are so crazy right now, and if we’re not careful, we can find our place on the crazy train. We can get so focused on all the negativity around us and get discouraged and frustrated. We have to remember that God’s goodness endures continually, even in the midst of difficult times.

Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually. Psalm 52:1 KJV

Finding the Good

I’m reading The Brave Learner by Julie Bogart. I read a sentence in her book today that caught my attention. “It’s as if we’re designed to notice what’s missing rather than being delighted by all the good happening in front of our eyes.” I thought about this in reference to Coronavirus. This epidemic has caused even the most positive people to become discouraged and frustrated. So I spent a few minutes and made myself find the “good happening in front of my eyes.” Here’s what I came up with:

We’ve had more family nights.
I’ve had more time to write.
My kids have spent more time playing together outside.
We’ve been on the receiving end of generosity during this time.
We’ve been able to give to others during this time.
This time has brought us a renewed appreciation for our family and friends.

Just thinking through each of these put a smile on my face and gave me encouragement to keep pushing through.

game night as a family — Family Game Night

girl with sunglasses playing game — Because playing with sunglasses is so much better!

Finding the Sweetness Worksheet

Take just a few minutes today to look for the good happening around you. It will encourage your heart just like it did mine. I have created a worksheet for you to be able to download to find the good right now in your own life. You can download that free worksheet HERE.

If this post was an encouragement to you, check out my post: Can You Really Find Hope in a Crisis?

12 Ways to Make Easter Special at Home this Year

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Easter looks different this year. It isn’t what any of us planned on, but it’s what we are stuck with. So how can we make the best of it? How can we make Easter special for our family, while stuck at home? Here are 12 ideas.

1. Stick with Tradition.

We can help our kids find joy by doing what we normally do every year. Decorate eggs, have an Easter egg hunt in your yard, make a special lunch, whatever it is your family does every year.

2. Start a New Tradition.

This year, since we couldn’t do our Easter egg hunt at church, we decided to take Easter to our church families. We made twenty baskets, loaded our family into the van, and drove around delivering Easter baskets to our church families. We had such a good time, this may become a yearly tradition.

3. FaceTime Family or Friends for an Easter Egg Hunt

Do an egg hunt in your backyard, but FaceTime family members or friends to watch so they can be a part of it. Or change it up for fun. Let your kids hide some eggs and see if their Grandparents or another family member or friend can “find” them by watching from the phone.

4. Make an Easter Candy Trail

Every year, we make candy trails for our kids to follow to find their Easter basket. We make four trails of candy. Each child follows their trail, picking up the candy as they go. At the end of their trail, they find their Easter basket.

5. Easter Basket Ideas for Kids

This is what we are putting in our kids’ baskets this year. It’s different every year. This is all stuff I got from Dollar Tree, except for the books.

Flip flops
Sunglasses
Candy
Notepad or journal
Egg-shaped sidewalk chalk
Stamps
Football for Malachi
Hula Hoops for the girls (those obviously don’t fit in their baskets)
Books: I ordered a book from Amazon for Madison and Malachi and princess sticker books for Macey and Maggie

You can also create a Kids’ Devotional Basket for your kids. We did this two years ago for Easter.

6. Make an Easter Basket for Your Spouse

Parents usually get overlooked at Easter. This year, do something different. Make an Easter basket for your spouse. This is what I am putting in Matt’s Easter basket this year.

Snickers eggs
Beef jerky
Pair of sunglasses
A container of Mentos gum
A book I ordered on Amazon
Other ideas: coffee, summer sausage, a block of cheese, hot sauce, coffee mug or travel mug, pens

7. Easter Crafts

crafts from the dollar store — Easter Crafts from Dollar Tree

Dollar tree has lots of great kits this year for Easter. I snagged egg decorating kits and paint kits. Another easy idea is to get sponges from the dollar store and cut them into the shape of eggs. Kids can use these to sponge paint eggs on paper.

8. Listen to an Audiobook

picture of kids painting — Our kids painting and listening to an audiobook

While my kids painted and decorated eggs, they listened to The Tales of Beatrix Potter. I bought the audio version on Amazon. The first tale is Peter Rabbit. My kids had fun listening while painting, and it kept them from fighting with each other instead.

9. Watch an Easter Movie as a Family

Some families watch The Passion of the Christ; others watch Peter Rabbit. You choose what works for your family. A movie night is always special, especially when you add popcorn.

10. Make a Special Meal

Whether it’s brunch, lunch, or dinner, plan a special meal on Easter. Set a nice table. You can do that with a colored table cloth, Easter paper plates, napkins, and cups. Or put out your fine china- whatever works for you. Make something delicious that will bring the entire family together.

Cheesy hashbrown casserole. This is the recipe I use except I don’t put in the cornflakes and I use onion powder instead of chopped onions.
Coffee Cake. This is the recipe my mom has used for years and passed on to me. Now I make it all the time for my family.
Cinnamon rolls. Feeling really ambitious? Try this recipe from the Pioneer Woman. They take a little bit of time, but they are worth it. I make these each year at Christmas.
Make a ham and use this yummy ham glaze. I’ve used this glaze in years past.
Melt some chocolate chips and dip strawberries and bananas. My kids love doing this!

11. Listen to Worship Music

Even though we can’t be at church, we can still worship together as a family. Spend time listening to uplifting worship songs as a family sometime this weekend. Here are some of our favorite Easter songs.

Glorious Day by Casting Crowns
The Power of the Cross by Keith Getty and Stuart Townsend
Resurrection Hymn by Keith Getty and Stuart Townsend
Because He Lives by Matt Maher
Jesus Saves by James Cottrell (This one is covered by the Steve Petitt Evangelistic Team)
At the Cross by Matt Redman, Jonas Myrin, Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash, and Matt Armstrong

12. Do an Easter Devotional Together

easter devotional picured — Matt’s Easter Devotional

My husband, Matt, has written a 30-Day Easter devotional, called Six Days to Sunday. Each day’s reading starts with a fun Easter story and ends with a detailed look at the Easter story. This book is perfect for reading with your kids. You can buy and download the kindle version and have it available right away.

Remember What’s Most Important

Hopefully, this list of ideas will get you started thinking about what you can do to make Easter special. Just remember, making Easter special for your family isn’t about all the stuff you do, it’s about spending quality time together as a family and celebrating Jesus’ love and sacrifice for us. If you remember those two things, your Easter will be perfect.

Being Okay, When Everything is Not Okay

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hand doing the okay sign — photo credit: pixabay

Being okay when everything is not okay sounds impossible. We live in a world where we are taught to look after number one, take care of myself, let others know what I’m feeling, be honest about how I really feel, and so on. So how in the world do we respond to the crisis we are stuck in?

Joseph’s Circumstances

During my morning time, I have been reading in the book of Genesis. I read a verse about Joseph this week that really stood out and started me thinking about this concept of being okay even though everything around us is far from okay.

As it turned out, God was with Joseph and things went very well with him… Genesis 39:2 MSG

This verse teaches us a really interesting concept. You can be in the midst of a bad situation and things are not okay, but you can be okay. The circumstances around you can be really bad. Joseph was in a bad situation. His brothers sold him as a slave. He has been hired by a man named Potiphar. Now he lives in this man’s house, overseeing the other slaves.

Does Joseph want to be in Egypt? No, of course not. He would rather be home, but this is the situation he is stuck in now. Though he is in the midst of a trial or a bad situation, things are well with him. He knows God is still with him and hasn’t forgotten him.

The head jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners—he ended up managing the whole operation. The head jailer gave Joseph free rein, never even checked on him, because God was with him; whatever he did God made sure it worked out for the best. Genesis 39:23 MSG

Joseph ends up in prison for something he didn’t do. Even then, in the midst of terrible circumstances, God is still with him.

The Story Behind “It Is Well With My Soul”

It’s hard for us to wrap our minds around this idea. How is it possible to be in the midst of a difficult circumstance and say things are okay?

I can’t read a verse like this and not think about the story behind the beloved hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul,” by Horatio Spafford. Horatio and his wife Anna lived in the 1800s. They had four girls together. After surviving the Chicago Fire, they decided to take a break and vacation in Europe. Horatio needed to finish up some work, so he sent his wife and four young daughters across the ocean ahead of him. The ship Anna and the girls were on was struck by another vessel and sank to the bottom of the Atlantic. Anna survived but their four daughters did not.

Horatio received a telegram from his wife saying, “Saved alone. What shall I do?” After receiving that message, Horatio boarded a ship to go get his wife and bring her home. The captain of the ship called Horatio up to the deck when they passed over the spot where the ship had gone down. Horatio stood at the deck and looked down. It was during those moments that he penned the words to the beloved hymn, “It is Well with My Soul.”

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well, with my soul
It Is well
With my soul
It is well, it is well with my soul

I can’t imagine what he must have felt as he stood on the deck of that ship. We can see from his words that God’s grace was with him even in the midst of horrible circumstances. Everything was terribly, terribly wrong, but Horatio could say, “It is well with me.” That’s the best picture we have of understanding God’s peace.

4 Things We Can Do Today for Encouragement

So do we just paste a smile on our face and act like everything is okay, even though it’s not right now? No, but here are some things we can do.

Choose to believe that God has everything in control. We have to make the decision in our hearts to trust God and not panic. He is still in control. We have the choice to trust God today or to live in fear.
Don’t focus on the negativity all around us. Don’t read all the negative posts about coronavirus on Facebook. Maybe skip the news and press conferences for a few days. Constantly feeding ourselves with information about something we can do nothing about doesn’t help bring peace.
Find something positive to focus on during this time. Read a good book, listen to encouraging music, watch an uplifting movie as a family, start a new Bible study, take an online class, facetime with friends and family, send a note of encouragement to someone, try a new recipe, whatever brings life to you.
My last and best tip is to spend time with God each morning. If you want to stay grounded during this time, develop a morning time routine of prayer, Bible reading, and journaling. If you want help getting a morning routine started, read My Best Tips for an Effective Morning Time.

Four Songs to Encourage Your Heart Today

I love music. Uplifting music is one of the greatest ways to bring peace and encouragement into our daily lives. These four songs have been a great source of encouragement to me during these past few weeks.

Alive and Breathing by Matt Maher

I Know by Big Daddy Weave

The Glorious Unfolding by Steven Curtis Chapman

Sovereign Over Us by Michael W. Smith

Additional Resources

If this has been an encouragement to you, I have several other resources available that will be a help and encouragement during this time.

Alleviate Your Anxiety Devotional. My husband and I created a 10-Day Crisis Devotional. You can’t stop the rain, but you can keep it from falling on your head. Find your way through the anxiety. Focus your thoughts away from worry. Fuel your spirit with hope. You can get this free download HERE.
Journaling Prompts Worksheet One of the best things we can do when going through a difficult season of life is to process our thoughts through journaling. This download includes a journaling worksheet and 12 verses to claim. You can get your free download HERE.
The Hidden Pain: When You Fear God is No Longer Blessing Your Life This is a book I have written and is available on Amazon. What do you do when you feel that God is no longer blessing you? How do you reconcile faith in a God who can meet your needs but doesn’t? The answer isn’t as simple as we try to make it. The Hidden Pain forces us to move past Christian clichés and shallow faith to embrace an unwavering confidence in a God who rarely does what we expect Him to. You can grab your copy HERE.
The Faithfully Stepping Journal. Establishing a good morning time routine is key to making it through difficult times. I use this journal as part of my morning time routine every day. This six-month journal uses an easy format to help you grow in your relationship with God using journaling, bible reading, and prayer time. There are three covers to choose from. You can order one HERE.
Fantasy Fiction Series. Maybe you just need an escape from reality for a little bit. A good book is the perfect escape! My fantasy series might be just the escape you are looking for. You can find those books HERE.

3 Promises You Need to Hear During This Crisis

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Frustrations and Fears

My eight-year-old, Madison, is usually pretty good about working through her subjects for school independently. This morning, however, was a different story. This morning, Language was her undoing. It wasn’t even that hard of an assignment, but she just couldn’t get it. The frustration came first, then the tears. As soon as I saw the tears, I knew she must be tired. She doesn’t cry that often and usually not over her school.

Matt saw her struggling and asked her to come and sit on his lap. He just held her while he continued working. When she had calmed down, I directed her to the table, where I had paint cards, paints, and paintbrushes set out. We changed up the schedule and got right to painting. Soon Madison was smiling at the table and painting. It wasn’t too long before I heard her giggling. I smiled because I knew she had made it past her crisis of the morning.

With this whole coronavirus deal, I think most of us feel how Madison felt this morning… simply at the end of our rope. We feel pushed past our limits, frustrated, and fearful. If you feel that way, I have good news for you. You’re not alone! Not only do I share those same feelings with you, but Paul totally understood what it felt like to endure hardships. He gives us some encouragement for going through hard times in I Corinthians.

No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it. I Corinthians 10:13 MSG

Paul writes that God has three conditions for His testing and trials in our lives. It’s not just “anything goes.” He has three promises for us when going through a trial. Understanding these three promises help fortify us to stand strong and endure.

1. God promises there is nothing you can go through that somebody else hasn’t already been through.

Solomon says in Ecclesiastes that there is nothing new under the sun. Sometimes that’s frustrating because we want to be different. We want to feel like nobody has ever had it as bad as we have it, but that’s simply not the truth. We have to remind ourselves, somebody has already been through what I am going through.

That can give us incredible encouragement. When Satan tries to discourage you and whispers that you have it worse than anybody else, remind yourself that you don’t. If others have made it through this, then you can too.

A way to get the focus off of your problems is to focus on who you can help, even in the midst of your trial. Who else has it worse than you do right now? I promise, if you look hard enough, you can always find someone who has it worse. Focus on them. Focusing on others in the midst of your own pain is a sure way to be encouraged.

2. God promises you won’t be pushed past what you can handle.

This is so encouraging! God says He won’t let something happen to you that will absolutely crush you. Even though it may feel that way right now, this trial won’t destroy you. God has complete control of your life and circumstances, and he won’t allow that to happen. Paul, of all people, was the best person to hear this from. Paul endured many trials and hardships. If he said God won’t give you more than you can handle, he knows what he’s talking about.

So when you’re tempted to fold under the discouragement and helplessness you feel, when you want to crawl back into bed and not face the pressure and challenges of today, remember this — God has made you strong enough to get through this and whatever else is coming. God said he won’t allow you to be given more than you can handle, and you can take God at His Word. So push away those thoughts and remind yourself that you are strong in Christ.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13 KJV

3. God promises He will walk through this trial with you.

Finally, in the midst of this trial, remember the most important point. God has promised His presence in your trial.

For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” Hebrews 13:5 NLT

Even when it feels that God is the furthest away, know that He is with you. What about when it feels like He isn’t? That’s when faith steps in. It’s easy to forget that it takes faith to live this life. The same faith it took to put your trust in God to save you is the same faith you need to choose to believe He is still with you when you are in the midst of this trial. You have to choose to believe that He will see this through to the end of this.

Journaling Prompts

One of the best things we can do when going through a difficult season of life is to process our thoughts through journaling. I have created a journaling worksheet you can download for free HERE. This download includes a journaling worksheet and 12 verses to claim. I am a huge advocate of journaling! It helps so much to process what you are going through.

If you enjoyed this post, check out last week’s post- Can You Really Find Hope in a Crisis?