Nov 29, 2022 | Community Life
As a young adult, I remember approaching my first Christmas and realizing: I DON’T OWN ANY ORNAMENTS for my tree. I didn’t want to go out and buy just any particular ornament, I wanted it to have meaning. Having an ornament exchange is a great way to share something...
Nov 21, 2022 | Community Life
Every Christmas, I make the effort to give gifts to my closest friends. Sometimes, it’s a mixed CD (yes, I still make those) or perhaps it’s my favorite highlighter pens. I like to make it personal, affordable and fun. Yet, there is always this awkward pause when I...
Nov 17, 2022 | Community Life
“THAT’S MY SISTER!” I yelled as I sprinted across the dining hall to break up a friendly dog pile of stinky boys tackling one of my friends. It was summer, and I was a camp counselor. It felt like a rite of passage: an opportunity to love on kiddos, have new...
Nov 10, 2022 | Community Life
I knew the friendship had run its course—yet, the shared history and guilt over closing the doors kept me feeling chained to this unhealthy friendship. For years I wanted to sneak out of the friendship quietly but my conscious wouldn’t allow me to just disappear from...
Oct 27, 2022 | Community Life
My husband, Tim, was hosting a football party this fall and was discouraged when a few of the guys cancelled last minute. He was walking around the house, making loud sighs as he read the texts coming in on his phone. He looked at me and said, “How do you do this?...
Oct 27, 2022 | Community Life
“Oh, you didn’t hear?” “Hear what?” My husband and I asked our then, trusted companion. We were sitting in our living room, crunching on snacks while watching football. We thought it was a normal Saturday afternoon but, later remember it as an ambush. Our friend...
Oct 18, 2022 | Community Life
Welcome to tough conversations with friends. We all want to avoid them and yet, we have felt that tug to dig in and say what we feel the Spirit leading us to say. Hard conversations do not equate to conflict or criticism but when done in love, can be edifying and...
Oct 6, 2022 | Community Life
Tim and I sat in the dimly lit hotel lobby and clinked our glasses together celebrating seven years of marriage. I looked at him with so much joy because this year we had tackled three kids, a book release, a new job, an ACL surgery, settling into our new home and so...
Jul 25, 2022 | Community Life
“Let’s grab coffee?” you ask. “I’m more of a tea girl, but absolutely,” I respond. Coffee dates are a tale as old as friendship time. They’re perfect for their casual, treat-inspired friend time. Yet, there is something more going on when we sit down to talk with...
May 31, 2022 | Community Life
Planning a book launch party was filled with a lot of little details and help from many local vendors. The vision for the party was “friend date.” I didn’t want it to just be a book signing but an actual event that created an opportunity for women to...
May 31, 2022 | Community Life
No matter how long I’ve been a mom, I still get intimidated by new mom circles. Just recently, my oldest started kindergarten and I agreed to attend a new family meetup. This was an opportunity for families to get to know one another before the school year started. It...
Jul 28, 2021 | Community Life
Books have held an important role to help our kids through life’s big transitions. Whether it is potty training or visiting the dentist for the first time, it can be hard to grasp this new, sometimes scary thing. We want to have conversations but, we also...
