Receive

Chase beauty, in all places—in words and in art, in nature and in creativity—as food for your heart. Don’t hurry to grow up—actually, keep the mindset of a child who is curious and unafraid to explore things you don’t know; try things you aren’t good at and enjoy every risk, every attempt to try something new without caring about the outcome. Take walks and look at the sky; relish getting lost for what you will discover when you feel like you have no idea where you are. Let the authors of stories speak to your imagination, reminding you of the wonder of places and people unknown—and how even those who are very kind are vulnerable to cynicism when their hearts are closed off to joy. (Be open to joy.) Be courageous in discovering who you are—the glory and uniqueness of the beautiful you. You...

I have served single mothers in formal ministry for more than fifteen years and perhaps one of the most frequently asked topics our ministry broaches is how to navigate the tricky waters of parenting with an ex. There is no special manual on how to make things run smoothly with someone that you couldn’t navigate a successful relationship with. Can we just establish upfront that it is indeed hard?! One hundred percent of the time – at least initially. Yes, there are some co-parenting relationships that are easier than others, and some do find their rhythm more quickly than others. But all are hard.   There are times when an ex does not do what they are supposed to do, and sometimes they are not easy to communicate and co-parent with. Honestly, there may be times when you do not do...

With more than 22 million single parents in the U.S. and numbers continuing to rise, many churches are beginning to create single moms’ or single parent ministry programs, including outreach and discipleship. Many of these plans include regular Bible study meetings via a Sunday School class, connect group, home study, ministry, or some such similar structure. This is especially exciting to me. As a former single mom who struggled getting planted back in a local house of worship for some time, what I wouldn’t have given for a formal single moms’ ministry to be offered at a local church during that season! I walked back in that local church in 1999 and the journey of getting connected and growing was a difficult one, but one I learned much from.  In 2003, I married and was no longer a s...

I do not know if there has even been a time in my life when the term “anxiety” has come up more than it has in the last five years. In doing some cursory research, it appears that even the secular world is noticing an increase in diagnosed anxiety, including a noted 5.12% increase in cases over the last ten years. (Social Psychology and Psychiatric Epidemiology, June 2021) I hear medications being advertised on television about it. I hear people referring to a difficult situation and saying “my anxiety was so high that…” I was even recently talking with a colleague about ministry and the women we serve, and she was acutely aware of the increase we’ve seen in that terminology, as well. There seem to be a number of women that are battling some level of anxiety during this season – anxious th...

It comes rushing in like a familiar friend who unexpectedly comes for a visit, and it’s usually bearing luggage for a long-term stay. A broken heart. Unfortunately, we’ve all-too-familiar with its grip. The weight of a broken heart leaves grief in its wake, making most of us gasp for air as we flail our arms trying to escape its immovable grip. The pain is substantial. The vibrant blues and yellows of life quickly turn gray and we find ourselves trudging through. It’s usually not the weight of one thing that puts us under. Rather it’s the occurrence of seemingly a thousand. A thousand pains. Disappointments. Blows. One more failed relationship. Another lost job. One more rejection from a friend. A broken heart sucks the air from our mouths. We want to breathe and live and laugh. We ju...

Well, the holiday season is over and the Christmas trees are all coming down. The children are back in school. What many of us are left with are New Year’s Resolutions and the hopes that 2023 will be our best year ever. And many of those hopes may involve our finances. As with any goal, financial improvement in this new year is going to come with a little work, so we’ve put together some of our top tips for single moms who are looking to make some changes in the new year.   Take a look at your credit report. Many of us know that our credit report is important, but did you know it can be used not only for mortgages and car loans, but future employment, credit card rates, and terms on insurance policies? Our credit is important, but often the busyness of life prevents us from keepi...

Yesterday was a homecoming of the best kind.  We learned the news that Billy Graham had taken his last breath on earth and his first breath in heaven. His global impact is immeasurable. Only God knows, and heaven will reveal the fruit that one completely surrendered farmboy turned preacher sowed for the kingdom. He preached the gospel on every continent and in more than 184 countries, reaching almost a quarter of a billion people in the crusades alone. To celebrate the impact of the words Billy Graham spoke and wrote in his 99 years and to honor his life, work, and ministry, I’ve curated 50+ of Billy Graham’s best quotes. This post contains affiliate links at no additional cost to you.  Billy Graham Quotes Anxiety is the natural result when our hopes are centered in anythin...

Esther 4:13-16 says, “Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: ‘Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for such a time as this?’ Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai, ‘Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go see the king. If I must die, I must die.”    We love a feel-good, rags-to-riches story with a powerful, faith-filled, female lead, don’t we, moms? We love Esther’s story,...

I love reading by Christmas tree light. In the faint warmth of its incandescent illumination, I feel hope. The gentle radiance enfolds me into a brief retreat during the bustle of the holiday season. The calm soothes in the midst of the distresses of our broken world, and collides with the disquiet hiding in the corners of my soul. I find my mind tranquilly wandering into history and the pastoral suburbs of shepherds living under stars, watching woolly animals breathing in, breathing out. I mull over what those men might have been thinking as they watched the calm repose taking place on the fields in front of them. How could they have known that in the provincial life they had become so accustomed to, they would be met by the miraculous? I long for an angel to appear in front of me proclai...

Here is my confession: I believed in Santa until I was eleven. I had suspicions, but as far as I could see I had a good thing going on, and asking questions might mess with the quantity of wrapped bounty strewn beneath the tree Christmas morning. Whether it was Santa or Mom, I didn’t care, because… presents. My grandma finally set me straight during the Yuletide season of sixth grade. She was probably worried about my intelligence or that I would be a bully’s easy target, so she glanced at me incredulously, delicately shook her silver-crested head, and set me straight when I started lodging my defense about why Santa was real. Growing up is hard. The loss of dreams, wonder, and innocence feels tragic. As a child I felt I had a right to believe in things that could not be explained, underst...