Balancing Work and Home: Making Every Moment Count

Stepping outdoors, the heat hit my face, and I sucked in air greedily. One of my favorite scents is the fragrance of hot wet soil and asphalt steaming in the sun after a rain. Sand ripples, eroded by flash rain, strata-ed the edges of the road, and a red fire hydrant gleamed newly-polished from the…

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Adding Steam & Romance to our Marriages this Summer

As summer steams up and children are off familiar school schedules, it’s easy to simply fall into the role of Kid Chauffeur and Activities Coordinator. For my husband and I, though, summer is also a chance for more romance. He jokes wryly that his homeschooling wife suddenly gives him more attention once school is done…

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How Not to Lose this Summer that’s Slipping By

Under a massive blue sky, mammoth cotton clouds slide shadows across the deck and my pink skin. Motorcycles hum, birds sing, and a hot wind buffets sweaty skin. How do you make a summer stretch long? In between the jobs, park play dates, garage sale fundraisers, summer camp carpools, and youth missions trip details, how…

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A Midsummer’s Conversation

The words came together in a way I had never seen before. In between the sentences and the miracles, a quiet storyline unfolded before me. There had been a macabre seven-veils-style of dancing in a Roman court, culminating in erotic shimmies, and a request for a head on a platter. Grisly details finalized the deal.…

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And What Do You Buy God?

Five or six nickels and dimes line up precariously on the white pine bed railing, as my four-year old and I shove toys into piles in his room. Sitting cross-legged, I sort toys and bag up giveaways. “Daniel, I found another one!” He races over to pluck the coin from my hand, and carries it…

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