Blog
Decorate Your July Desktop!
I had the marketing call for my new book It All Began in a Garden last week and I was a little nervous. {You're going to FLIP over the pre-order bonuses!!} COVID threw life into a tailspin—we all get that—but I imagined I’d done everything all wrong already. (Is this...
Regaining Your Sense of Peace at (in)courage
I’m almost embarrassed to admit what prompted me to set foot in a grocery store again after two months of home delivery. It wasn’t increased feelings of security about entering public places or statistics about a decrease in COVID-19 cases in my area. It was queso —...
June’s Desktop Calendar & Thoughts on the Golden Rule
A few years ago we planted two magnolia trees, one on each side of our front yard. I remember the large magnolia whose branches hung low over the wooden fence of my childhood home and how people sometimes knocked at our door and asked to cut a few blooms for a...
DIY Insect Repellant
Spring has arrived but unfortunately so have the insects! If you'd like to enjoy the outdoors with fewer pests, try this DIY insect repellent using natural, plant-based ingredients. No DEET! When I made individual spray bottles for my teens to take to camp one summer,...
Going Through the Five Stages of Grief in a Global Pandemic
In the ten and a half years I’ve written for (in)courage, never have I thought so much about how the world in general — and admittedly my world in particular — could change between the day I submit my words and the day you read them. Life under a shelter-at-home...
May’s Desktop Calendar & Why You Don’t Have to be Ashamed of How You Feel Right Now
Chances are, some of you feel guilty about how you feel at this point in this global pandemic. We couldn't have predicted it, we weren't prepared for it, and it can feel like we're winging it day by day. We know the stakes are high, but much of the information is...
Easter Dogwood Images for You
I photographed some dogwood blooms on at a local park on our last day before Georgia's shelter-at-home took effect. When I uploaded the images to Lightroom at home, I rediscovered a batch of dogwood images I took in 2014 and added text for Easter. Honestly, I don't...
Download April’s Desktop Calendar!
This virus may keep us home, but it can't stop the spring! I took a walk through my neighborhood recently to enjoy the freshness and color of the season, if not the pollen count. Unfortunately, you can't have one without the other. As of Friday evening, we are under a...
Five Thoughts for Mothers of Teens at (in)courage
When a topic pops up continually in conversation or often catches my attention online, I wonder if it’s the Holy Spirit nudging me to write about it for others who are in the same place. Many of my friends and I are parenting teens, with fewer years of children living...
