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Living It Out at Age 16: Meet Jayla
A teenager girl who goes against the social norm, who knows why she was put on this planet and isn’t afraid to dream crazy big dreams? It is a rare find, but that’s Jayla Elstad. I’m soooo happy to introduce her to you today. I sat down with Jayla and her mom recently and listened…
Read MoreBRAVE, Because McDonald's Fries Cannot be the Way We Go
The other day a bunch of us and our kiddos were at McDonald’s (because apparently Chipotle doesn’t have a kids’ play place yet), and my littlest wanted to see if he could exchange out his toy. I wavered between taking him back to the counter to get a new one vs. just saying “you’re fine, go play”. Nice…
Read MoreWhen We Want to Be BRAVE: Why Being In His Presence Matters Most
A question weighed in the room, and it was not settling well among us. Last week I sat with some amazing women in my living room. Women who challenge me to think big, to reach wide and love with intentionality. We sat together, some on the floor, others on my couch, plates filled with crackers and cheese, chocolate…
Read MoreBrave with Hope: Melanie's Story, Day 5 of Unemployment
I sat with my friend, Melanie, as tears brimmed. Sunday’s service had just ended, and her first week of unemployment was about to begin. Messages of being brave have been everywhere for her, but Melanie is a single mom with no job, no current options, and one month away from not being able to pay…
Read MoreBrave, Even When Life Makes No Sense
At age 16, how would you have answered this question: “What do you want your life to look like?” At 16, I would have said that I wanted to go into the business world, get a college degree, get married and have kids by the time I was 25. But life went a little differently…
Read MoreOne Brave Story, One Year Later
Today marks the one year anniversary of a death for one of my dearest friends. She has walked through a full year. Three hundred and sixty five days of her life being one hundred percent different than what she’d ever dreamed. She’s walked through birthdays, seasons, holidays, feeling every single ounce of the loss that…
Read MoreBRAVE: A New Summer Series
It is on. That Summer Shift. And my family has binged on it like we’ve been waiting all our lives. My kids have been out of school for a mere four days and we’ve already had three sleepovers, two picnics, late night movies and sleeping in like it’s breath to our lungs. Memorial Day Weekend kicks off the…
Read MoreIntegrity, Truth and Football
What’s that thing you obsess over? If I were to sit down with your friends, what stories would they tell me? What you are kinda nuts about? If you spent one minute with any of my friends and asked them that question about me, they would come back with one word, without hesitation: FOOTBALL. Fall =…
Read MoreWhen We Are Stressing Out
When my kids were little, most every ounce of my day was focused on one thing: keeping them alive. Don’t touch that. Don’t eat that. Don’t stand up on that. Don’t crawl under that. Don’t lean on that. And don’t even look at me like that. Keeping them alive was a full time job and crazy stressful. Life…
Read MoreDo You Believe Me?
[fusion_text]A few years ago, I was out on my back porch sweeping leaves when I sensed God asking me this question: “Do you really believe me?” For years, practically my whole life, I’ve been in church. I have loved Jesus since I was 8 years old, following Him, praying through the years for people, events, children, jobs, decisions, finances.…
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