I’m weary. Some of my weariness results from good–even great–stuff. My older son will marry his beautiful, wonderful, the-young-woman-I’ve-prayed-for fiance in just over three months. My daughter has been accepted and received enough financial aid for her to be able to attend Dallas Baptist University this fall. My younger son continues to amaze me with [...]

Iron Man 3 comes out May 3. I know at least three people in my household who anxiously await its release. They’re not such fanatics that they’ve already bought tickets–at least I don’t think they have. But they do appreciate the genre. Want to know a secret? I do, too. Weird, I know, that a [...]

I lead a group of high school juniors in a discipleship group. We’ve been together nearly 5 years now, and that hour and a half has become one of the highlights of my week. Brittany, Casey, Emily, Kailey, Savanna and I know each other intimately; we trust each other implicitly. Truly a picture of community [...]

Texas had the mildest of winters this year–few days barely reached freezing, much less long stretches of frigid temperatures, high humidity, chilling winds. Now, I’m not complaining about the lack of winter. (Though, I must admit, I do wonder what this will mean for the bug population around here come summer.) I prefer warmer temps. [...]

You may think I’m weird, but I don’t really care if I don’t get flowers on Valentine’s Day. Or candy. Or diamonds. Or even a dinner out. Yes, I realize I’m taking a big risk in admitting this. After all, greeting card companies—and florists and restaurants and jewelers and chocolate factories (Sorry Willie Wonka) may [...]

I recently released a new book about weight loss. In it, I offer reasons why I dislike diets and restricting food choices. But even when we think we have a grip on the external rules, we can still struggle with mind battles. Who’s really in control in our lives? Us or God? When we steal [...]

I hope you’re enjoying the Christmas season and finding blessings as you prepare to celebrate Christ’s birth. I know I am. I’ve dialed down my stress level considerably by choosing minimal decorations. Since we’ll be traveling for 10 days over Christmas, we’ll get to enjoy other people’s decorations instead of our own. But I saw a [...]

As though all the crazies came out of the woodwork, we laughed ‘til we cried as we opened such silly items as a stuffed pink flamingo, a wooden sign that read, “This toilet paper roll is not going to change itself” and a redneck briefcase (actually a pair of tighty-whiteys with a wooden handle attached [...]

Like many families, we—Bret’s parents, my parents and our little family of five—have lots of family traditions or habits. Let me just share a sampling with you. One, my mother-in-law likes to buy everyone in the family special flannel pajamas, which we open on Christmas Eve, don immediately and wear all Christmas morning, as well. [...]

With the frenzy (read: panic) involved in finding the perfect Christmas gift, most folks eventually realize that gifts of the heart—homemade items, baked goods, the gift of time—mean more to our loved ones than anything we could ever buy. My mom came right out and asked for such a gift a couple of years back. [...]