Last week I took a first ever four-day Silence and Solitude retreat all by myself. My body was tired, my soul was dry, and I knew I just needed to be with Jesus. I shared a couple weeks ago how I made the decision to take this soul care retreat. As an introvert, I...
Mark: When we found out Jill was pregnant with our fourth child I was angry. We had an appointment on the calendar for me to have a little “snip snip” surgery and the stick turned blue two weeks before surgery. I spent much of that pregnancy angry at Jill...
“Being fully me is so much better than being an imitation of someone else.” ~Lysa TerKeurst
“A comfort zone is a beautiful place but nothing ever grows there.” ~Unknown
It all started with the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit in August. Several speakers talked about the value of getting alone with God. However, it was the statement that several speakers made about “not being able to hear God until the 3rd day,” that...
Mark: This past weekend was another tough weekend for Jill and I. We’ve shared before about our son’s mental health journey (and here too). Walking into a hospital Saturday morning after our son overdosed once again and seeing him on a ventilator is not...
“Stop hiding your scars and your wounds. They’re your trophies that you went through that and still survived.” ~Bishop T.D. Jakes
“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy.” ~Thomas Merton
Today I’m experiencing the relief of good news. However, before the good news arrived, there were six days of “no news.” The journey of those five days is what’s on my mind today. Last week I had my every three month oncologist appointment. I...
Mark: Yesterday Jill and I spent the afternoon cleaning up from our garage sale. We boxed up the items that were left in order to donate them. Then we cleaned the garage. It was dirty work in many ways. I loved that she jumped right in and joined me. Jill: Every few...
“A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success” ~Unknown
The first time I remember eating eggplant was when my mother made Eggplant Parmesan growing up. I confess it wasn’t my favorite meal. Because of that, I’ve stayed away from eggplant until recently. I decided to give it a second chance after...
Mark: Last night we spent time with some friends who are coming through a hard season of healing in their marriage. We spent the evening sharing with each other about lessons learned along the way. Jill: The topic of compassion came up and we talked about the many...
“Love never fails. It changes people.” ~ Bill Hybels
I can’t wait! In just about 7 weeks I’ll be hanging out with over 2,000 moms at the North Central Hearts at Home conference! I’d love for you to join the fun! Women come to Hearts at Home conferences from all over the United States. Women even come...
