Something a mentor-sister-friend said to me a few weeks ago, If you are seeking the Lord and listening to the Holy Spirit and desiring to live well, you have to try hard to get outside the will of God for your life. Filter concepts and podcasts and advice through the lens of your unique wiring and your unique kids and your unique circumstances and hold it all before God.

It’s been challenging and refreshing to change my smartphone habits. I’m trying to use it as little as possible… and I’m digging it.

“It is no abstract thing—the state of your heart is the state of your home. You cannot harbor resentment secretly toward your children and expect their hearts to be submissive and tender. You cannot be greedy with your time and expect them to share their toys. And perhaps most importantly, you cannot resist your opportunities to be corrected by God and expect them to receive correction from you. God has given us the job of teaching His law and demonstrating His grace. We are to be guides to our children as they learn to walk with God.” Rachel Jankovic

Sacrifices.

I want to keep in front of me the reality of what can be touched — circumstances, loss, joy, life given and taken, confidence, competence, health — and what cannot be touched — my daughtership to my Father the King, eternal hope and an eternal home.

The smile of an 8 month old is the besssstttttt.

“Noise is not always bad; it can be a sacred gift. But we must recognize that filling the empty spaces of our lives with more noise will not save us. When our Savior came up out of the silent waters of baptism, he heard the voice of his father naming him “Beloved.” Then, he was sent into the silent desert—a silence of prayer, fasting, trial, and temptation which led to the salvation of the world. Ultimately, this is why we practice silence: to hear ourselves named, over and over, in a way that saves us anew each time, Beloved. Beloved. Beloved. #