Lesson(s) Learned

I ran across a quote today that really made me think: “We’ll become what we accumulate the most of. Gather love.” – Bob Goff Naturally, after reading that quote, I thought, “Hmm. What do I accumulate the most of?” Being a self-proclaimed minimalist (meaning: I try to cut down on clutter as much as possible by giving away excess items to friends/family and donating to the Goodwill so-much-so that they’re probably thinking I work there part-time by now), I didn’t readily think of anything I “accumulate” or have in excess just chilling out around my house. But then, it hit me. Suddenly, and all at once. There’s that one box. Full of that stack of stuff. Stuff that would make complete and utterly-no-sense-at-all to anyone else looking through it. Stuff that other people would likely throw away. (Because it’s not suited for them.) It’s tailored specifically for me. But it’s not something I’ll ever outgrow, either. (which is probably why I’ve kept it all...

As some of you may already know, my sweet husband Jeff and I started recently volunteering in the Cubbies class at church. (not just any Cubbies class, we’re in Cubbies 1…. which means that we have the smallest, youngest, neediest, yet most precious Cubbies that ever existed) They’re 3-not-yet-4-years-old. These kids are so precious and so little, but already I’m realizing that little kiddos carry within themselves some BIG needs. Some of them need attention. LOTS OF IT. Some need time, conversation, encouragement, and a confirmation-that-they-matter. Some need simple help doing certain tasks. And some, let’s be honest, just need a spanking. But no matter what BIG needs our little Cubbies walk into the room with on a particular night, they all carry one BIG need in common: they need Jesus. We all need Jesus. Although some nights spent in Cubbies 1 can be down-right exhausting, Jeff and I can rest assured that our time spend with them is well-needed because we’re pointi...

You know, over the course of the last handful of years, I’ve noticed that my blog has taken quite the different direction(s). Mainly, because my life-story has taken on new directions, experienced new adventures, and uncovered new lessons to be learned all along the way. Today, as I went about my daily routine, I realized how lucky I am. Actually, luck has nothing to do with it. I recognized, truly, amidst all the life-change, the redirections, and the varied transitions, how blessed I am. For me, the moment came today when I saw my sweet husband’s army fatigues in the house. In that self-same moment, I realized how very proud I am of him, the man he is, the heart he has, the  way he serves our country, and the way he loves me so ridiculously well. At the same time, I became deeply humbled - to the point of tears – that God chose me to be his wife. Seriously, of all the women in the world that it could have been, it’s me. And only me. And always me. There’s somet...

If you’ve read the 1990’s Children’s award-winning novel, The Giver , written by Lois Lowry or you’ve taken the time to see the recent theatre-box rendition of it, then you’ll know what I’m talking about when I use the phrase seeing beyond . It’s nothing mystical or oddly-spiritual. It’s simply the ability some (few!) of the characters in the book/movie were born with that enables them to see things other people don’t see. They’re tuned into things like color, for example, when the rest of the world is merely seeing black-and-white. It’s an interesting skill to have, this seeing beyond .   It’s actually quite cool to have an advantage like that over the others. But this ability must be exercised and revealed with caution. For with much privilege comes much responsibility. Just as recently as yesterday, two distinct situations came across the lives of two people that are very dear to me. And they soon, as you can imagine, came to my attention as well. The first situation...

Today, as I drove along my usual winding path (that is the only escape-route out of my apartment complex), I passed several of the same landmarks that I always do. But today was different because God spoke to my heart as I drove. You see, at one point in my journey, I passed by a church on my left side and simultaneously passed a funeral home on my right side. It may be a stretch of your imagination to go here with me; but in my mind and in my car-ride, I felt a tension between life and death in those few moments on the stretch of road winding between the two buildings.  [I would dare say if you were riding shotgun in the passenger’s seat, you may have felt the same thing.] Why? Well, a church building is a symbol of hope and life, amongst others. While a funeral home is nothing short of a symbol of death. (It reminded me of the passage in Deuteronomy 30:15-19, where life and death are sitting in front of God's people as a choice to be made; and God urges them to choose ...

     I've been married nearly two months now (Whew! Where does the time go?!) and have not made the time to post on my blog in what seems like, (in the words, voice, and inflection of the beloved Gru), "Forever!"        Some days, I'm just too busy with finding delight in accomplishing daily chores/tasks and/or crafting, creating, fun times, and memory-making. Other days, I'm honestly just too lazy to capture all of my thoughts, collect them together, and string them into something that makes any semblance of sense to anyone outside of my little mind, self, "kingdom" (a.k.a. my house), and world.     But I've wanted to give some updates and some clarifications on the recent updates in my life for those of you that are naturally curious, personally concerned, or simply lacking better things to read at the moment, so here goes:     As many of you know, I'm now embarking on a new (very unpopular, might I add) journey. I...

For most people, a wedding day and a honeymoon week are days, times, experiences, and memories-made that will never be forgotten. For me, I became lucky enough to not only marry the world’s most wonderful man, have a beautiful wedding day, a wonderful honeymoon, and memories made to last an entire lifetime; but I also got to be gifted with the stark reality of “real life” on the very day our official “honeymoon” was over, so much that I was literally in need of a fresh, new start(er). Allow me to explain. Jeff and I enjoyed quite the wonderful week, following our impeccably- smooth-going wedding day, of official honeymooning in the quiet, nature-esque area known as Stone Mountain, Georgia. Very quickly, Jeff and I became very fond of the quiet and secluded characteristics of our resort (so much that Jeff made a song of it… another story, another time), yet we also enjoyed its proximity to the not-so-quiet, “the-world-is-coming-to-Atlanta”ness within a short notice’s driving ...

Why do we want to live the façade of a life “fixed” instead of admitting our brokenness? Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way… We’re all broken. All of us. Each and every one of us. Every single one of us. The Bible clearly teaches us that ALL have sinned. That means me, you, the sweet little grandma figure you idolize, and every one in between. We’re in shambles. We’re just not right. We’re broken. Growing up, I used to think I had the perfect life, the perfect family, the perfect everything…. I must have been God’s favorite or something because it was really ridiculous how perfect my life was. Or seemed. How perfect my life seemed. There’s a world of difference between what “was” and what “seemed” to be so. Now, I’m not negating the fact that God extra-blessed my with a huge family full of wonderful people that do love Him, but let me set the record straight. We’re not perfect, and it took me a lot of grown-up years to figure that out. But the problem is ...

The Wonder-full Life I’m not even two days into my break from school for the summertime and my relief from all duties related to classroom teaching for quite-the-while, and what to I find myself doing? That’s right. I’m teaching. Only this time, I’m teaching myself new things. As a modification to the old saying goes, “You can take the teacher out of the classroom, but you can’t take the lessons out of the teacher.” Ok, so that isn’t a modification to an old saying. I pretty much made it up on the spot. It’s only thirty seconds old. You’re welcome. Old or new sayings aside, it’s true that the lessons a teacher-at-heart gives and shares oftentimes extend far beyond the classroom walls and go on to embracing, altering, and inspiring another soul for the long haul. Just two days ago, I became decidedly anxious to learn about all-things-domestic that I don’t yet know about (which I’m learning is pretty much everything). Cooking. Cleaning. Sewing. Building and crafting things ...

  When I was younger, my siblings and I very quickly learned which errands to go on with my mom and which errands to run far away from. The one errand in particular I want to share with you this morning is when my mom would go up to the bank. Now, I don’t believe this bank is in business any longer; but back in the 90s, my mom would go to the drive-through teller at Barnett Bank. Whenever you went to the drive-up teller at Barnett Bank, they would give out lollipops to the kids in the car, which is probably while they’re no longer in business today because the Hill kids depleted them of their lollipops back in the 1990s.   But seriously, mom would pack all of us in the car, she’d talk with the bank teller, she’d get her envelope full of money, and they’d ask how many kids were in the car… she’d say 5. They’d say “send back some of the money to cover the cost of all those lollipops, lady.” No just kidding. But on those bank errands, everything was fine. Things went surpri...