Hot Tea and the Holy Spirit

I've been crying a lot lately.  Not like all-day sob-fests, but a minute here, a minute there--just enough to wet the steering wheel when my new favorite song, Counting My Blessings by Seph Schlueter, comes on the radio in the school carline. By the time the kids are in the car, the evidence is all dried up, but the crossing guard might have gotten a show. This song has been hitting me hard.  The more that I look in the details, the more of Your goodness I find.--SS To explain my delicate emotions, let me fill you in on a few of my details .  The first detail is that I'm house-hunting. Well, sort of. We're intending to move when school gets out, so we're basically voyeuring on Zillow without any actual buying power until we can list and sell our current home.  The second detail is that the other day I found my dream home.  Technically my husband found it. He had this wild look in his eye as he began to turn his phone screen in my direction. "If we really wante...

Practice,  noun.     the actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method, as opposed to theories relating to it. Practice,  verb.     perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to improve or maintain one's proficiency. -- Oxford Languages  "Practice makes perfect." I'm sure you've heard the phrase. To me it brings to mind the time I hid my piano books because I'd rather have watched tv or played outside than spent the afternoon working on chord progressions in the basement.  "Practice makes perfect," my mom would remind me. But I had better things to do.  "If practice makes perfect, and nobody's perfect, then why practice?" I was very proud of my response. Of course, I was the one who had asked for the piano in the first place, and I would have loved to perform flawlessly in the school talent shows like many of my friends. But I didn't want to put in the time.  My mom always reminded me...

The other day I was reading the "How to Read Matthew" preface to the Book of Matthew in my old NIV Student Bible, and I came across the following instruction: "First, consider how it differs from the other three Gospels; this will give you some idea of Matthew's distinct purpose." First, consider how it differs; this will give you some idea of its distinct purpose.  Here, in this obvious but all-too-overlooked advice, I think there is something to be said about how we should consider our own differences.  We often look at differences as a bad thing. I'm always telling my kids, "comparison is the thief of joy," and I stand by that mantra.  However, when we are able to see our differences not as ways that we are less than or greater than those around us, but rather as different textures, different brushstrokes, different colors, different mediums and techniques (all used for their unique beauty) in God's divine gallery, we can compare, or "c...

Because. I. Said. So.  Four words so familiar and iconic they titled a movie starring Diane Keaton and Mandy Moore.  We all heard those four words growing up, and many of us swore we'd never use them on our own kids. But let's be real: most of us have.  When I first became a parent, I looked at because I said so as a total copout--the phrase parents use when they don't feel like dignifying their kids with a real response.  And I suppose, at times, this may be true.  But 12 years and five kids into my parenting journey, I have found that  sometimes , those are the four most appropriate words to say.  My nine-year-old is incredibly literal and fact-driven. He needs to understand everything . I always try to make sure I explain my reasons and rationale for rules and reprimands very clearly to him, and most of the time he is very obedient. He likes to stay out of trouble, and he genuinely values doing the right thing. Sometimes, however, he perceives some...

Have you ever had an aching back? A crick in the neck? Something with your muscles, bones, ligaments, or tendons that was just off ? Many moons ago I trained to be a Pilates instructor. Pilates is a full-body exercise discipline that focuses on strengthening a body's "core" or "powerhouse," which includes all of the muscles of the abdomen, glutes, and back. When these muscles are strengthened, they help hold everything else in alignment. Alignment is one of the key pillars of Pilates. Done properly, Pilates strengthens and restores, and is even frequently recommended for physical therapy patients. However, as is the case with most forms of exercise, if done incorrectly, it can cause strain and even damage. Your body needs to be properly aligned (or moving toward alignment) to do the simple moves effectively. Proper and effective movement encourages and reinforces alignment, which allows the moves to be even more powerful. I thought of all this when reflecting on...

I wrote the following post back when my almost-three- year-old was almost two. I don't know why I sat on it for so long, but today the time has come to share! I hope it blesses you in some way today! *** Raising kids is hard.  My husband and I had great intentions when embarking on our parenting journey. We promised ourselves we would prioritize consistency, love, and respect, taking the time to calmly address the heart of any issue with our kids rather than reacting in rage.  We started out strong. But with each kid added to the mix, consistency became a trickier and more elusive concept. Suddenly we found that we were yelling a lot more than we ever thought we would, and our kids followed suit. We wanted to be a grace-filled family, but we were having a hard time balancing grace and authority.  I remember watching one of our friends, a pastor, discipline his three kids at various points, and I always admired the way he was firm but loving.  He kept his composure, a...

After the Uvalde, TX, elementary school shooting in May of 2022, I wrote the following post but never posted it. I never could get the words quite right, and eventually I just kind of shelved it and forgot about it.  Today, after receiving news about an elementary school shooting in my hometown of Nashville, TN, it seemed like time to revisit it.  Here goes. . .  Mumbo Jumbo I read a Facebook post the other day that got me all tied up in knots.  The post, in reaction to the recent elementary-school shooting in Uvalde, suggested that gun control and mental health initiatives as means of preventing such acts of terror were a bunch of "mumbo jumbo" and went on to list what kids these days actually need in order not to become mass murderers.  The list included wonderful things such as riding bikes with neighbors and cousins, making s'mores, attending Sunday school, watching fireworks, eating popcorn, getting good discipline, doing chores, eating home-cooked meals, ...