Happy New Year’s Eve — Day 365 — We Made It
That’s 365 days of choosing hope. Of posting encouragement. Of offering a positive word in a world that often prefers venting over virtue. And let’s be honest — this year gave us plenty to vent about. Politics. The economy. Relationships. Disappointments. Phew! But once upon a time — 2010, to be exact — I sensed…
We Took Christmas Outside our Walls
We’re grateful that here in Austin, the weather has been kind — well except for yesterday when our temperatures plummeted. Typically, warm days and mild nights mean those on the streets aren’t huddled in freezing corners right now. Still, warm weather doesn’t erase hunger, loneliness, or the longing to be seen. This blog was born…
Remember. Meditate. Reflect.
I can’t begin to tell you what blogging has done for me over the last fifteen years. It has given me purpose — and a sweet intimacy with God. Each day feels like an invitation to sit quietly, hold the pen (or the keyboard), and wait for the aha moments He so faithfully supplies. I…
My Christmas Letters and LOVE That Never Let’s Go
After celebrating Christmas three times — with our Noble family, our Wuerch family, and our Wallace family — I’m finally sitting still long enough to smile and say, “Thanks be to God for His LOVE that knows no end!” Carl’s family gathered first before heading to Colorado. Christmas Day was spent with my Wuerch crew…
What If We Had Been the Shepherds?
Not the polished, postcard shepherds — but the real ones. Sleepless. Dusty. Smelling like sheep. Curled up on the ground because that’s just how life worked. Shepherding wasn’t glamorous, but it was essential. Sheep mattered. Sacrifices mattered. And shepherds stayed busy because sheep were born — well — to die. Then one night — everything…
Oh My Soul — Now I Know Why
Our family celebrations have been delightfully spread out this year. Carl’s children’ Christmas — earlier in the month, Thanksgiving and Christmas with my daughter’s family at Epiphany Ranch, and yesterday — Christmas Day — with my son and his family. So many memories already tucked away — as new ones are still being made. And…
Joy to the World — Our King Has Come!
Today is not just a holiday — it’s THE birthday. Not a quiet, tiptoe-around-it kind of birthday either. This is a Joy-to-the-World, lift-your-voice, bow-your-heart kind of day. The day Heaven leaned close to Earth and said, “Presenting….JESUS, the Son of God!” Jesus came.Not just to visit.Not just to inspire.But to live among us, love us,…
Oh Holy Night
It’s Christmas Eve! We’re so close now. Christmas is tomorrow. We feel it in the air — the quiet excitement, the rustle of wrapping paper in a back room, AND the whispered negotiations — “Plllllease can we open just one present?” on Christmas Eve. You remember that feeling, don’t you? The one gift allowed early.…
Let’s Make Our Hearts a Bethlehem.
So here we are, December 23rd, hearts full, hope rising.The only baby who chose to be a baby is almost here. And, HERE, was Bethlehem. Why did Jesus come as a baby — when He didn’t have to. He could have arrived on the scene fully grown — robes flowing, crown shining. When He comes…
From Dallas to Bethlehem — What a Difference a Town Makes
I was born in Dallas, Texas—a city that does nothing small. Big highways. Tall buildings. Big hair (at least back then). I entered the world in Parkland Memorial Hospital, a clean, sterile, well-equipped place with machines that beeped and doctors who knew exactly what they were doing. My mother was just a few miles from…