Blog
What Our Ancestry Can and Can’t Tell Us at (in)courage
Before Christmas, many things I wanted to upgrade or try for the first time went on sale. It takes a strong will to resist a good sale, and I succumbed to purchasing two: upgrading from a yearly subscription to a lifetime membership on an editing software I use, and...
The Ministry of Breaking Bread at (in)courage
One of our daughters got married on a lovely day in October. Preparing for it long-distance was a challenge. She’s lived in Florida since 2022 and the wedding took place here in Georgia. We missed out on the fun of planning together face-to-face, and the thought of...
Overcoming Our Natural Instinct to Resist Correction at (in)courage
When writing, I’m private about my work. Even though it eventually goes out into the world in a book or an article, if someone walks into the room while I’m writing, I’ll put my computer to sleep or shut my laptop. While working on my first novel, however, I...
When the Culture Promotes Negativity, Let’s Be Counter-Cultural today @ (in)courage
I paused in the middle of a writing session to open a new tab on my web browser. After years devoted to nonfiction, I’m twenty thousand words into the rough draft of my first novel (it both thrills and terrifies me to type these words). The differences between genres...
This Day I Will Not Forget at (in)courage
My son sat in our living room with Bibles spread on the floor around him. He and I discussed translations, commentaries, and Study Bibles: the tools we use to interpret God’s Word. We talked about things like how I think 1 Corinthians 13 in the KJV reads like poetry. ...
Living Our Best Year at (in)courage
After three weeks of hospice care, my mother quietly passed away in her own bed, surrounded by friends and family, on my 38th birthday. She never met the youngest of our eight children, much less their future spouses and the great-grandchildren she could have known in...
The End of an Era at (in)courage
Our family will celebrate two milestones in May: our youngest child will graduate from high school and, after 30 consecutive years, I’ll retire from my job as a homeschool mom. This also means we're in our final sports season with a child at home. We’ve cheered for...
Love Thy Neighbor
On Christmas Day, as we sat in our living room and opened presents with immediate and extended family, one of our daughters called out to my husband from the garage. Initially, she sounded calm; when she repeated herself we could tell it was urgent. She’d slipped out...
Peace When Everything Spins Out of Control today at (in)courage
It amazes me how quickly things can go south, snowballing from bad to worse, and I allow myself to become overwhelmed by it all. Recently I had such an experience on what was an otherwise grand day, my daughter’s 23rd birthday. It began with brunch for friends and...
The Impact of Each of Our Simple, Singular Lives at (in)courage
I felt my watch vibrate and glanced down at the words on the screen. My attention focused as I scrolled through the details of the message and then fumbled through my nearby bag, searching for a tissue to dry my eyes. I couldn’t believe the news: My dear friend Dan...
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