The writer knows that she’s not gonna live on this earth forever. That one day, these dirt-digging, creek exploring, laundry folding, baby holding, toilet scrubbing days will be over. She feels it now-- how she’s actually only got a little bit of time left here to be helpful to the world and influence others. And the writer knows that her words will last longer than her earthly self. Because words have this ability to stay on the earth long after a person is gone. And she hopes that someday, when she’s standing barefoot somewhere on the warm shores of a certain Kingdom, that her kids and her grandkids will still have a little piece of her left. And they’ll be able to read again and again all the most important things that she would tell them if she could hold them close. The writ[...]

The other day, Brent and I drove into the big city. We went to Chicago to see the folks at Moody Publishers because we had never been and we wanted to thank the team that worked on the book. Now, I don't go to the city much. I live in a little neighborhood across from a great big corn field and I only have to drive a few miles before I'm in the middle of grape vineyards and apple orchards and strawberry fields and a big ole view full of sky. So, as we entered Chicago, I was struck by the strange beauty of all those grey skyscrapers huddled up together and the impressive labyrinth of overpasses and roads. Everywhere, there were just so many people. I looked over and noticed these two men in bright orange vests way up high on the roof of one of the buildings and in my heart, I grasped [...]

Each day, we’ve got this rhythm in place. After lunch and a little play time, I lay Samuel down for a nap, and Gideon (5) and Hope (4) head up to their rooms for a rest. Well, they can either rest or entertain themselves quietly. They do this for a whole hour. At least, that’s the plan. I had to buy an egg timer because it didn’t work so well at first. One of them always needed a drink and a snack and the other kept coming out every ten minutes, asking if rest time was over yet. So, I learned after several times, that it works best if firstly, everyone takes a bathroom break. And secondly, I round up a drink and a snack for each of them and set the timer. And thirdly, I threaten them a little that if they keep coming out to interrupt, they won’t get to watch a movie later. This i[...]