“So how are things going with you all lately?” I heard one mom ask another. And the other laughed, “Are you sure that’s a question you really want answered?” We need the friends who ask how we are and wait for the messy, convoluted truth. We need the friends who ask the questions that get…
Three years ago I soaked up all the Tweets and bade children be quiet as I fought slow internet to listen to the live stream of the speakers from a brand new Christian blogging conference I’d heard about. The next two years, each by a last-minute miracle, I got to go and be at Allume,…
There’s nothing as exhilarating and overwhelming as attending your first writing or blogging conference. If you’re an extrovert, you’re probably like my Allume roommate Trina who thrived on the people and the crowds and pulled everyone into the photo booth with her. If you’re a bit more of an introvert like Crystal, you probably won’t…
She’s there behind me, every time I look in the mirror. Comparing her reflection to mine. She shakes her head, that one with the perfect complexion. That size 0 waist mocks me. I hear her disapproving voice inside my head every time I try to pull on a pair of jeans. The ones that won’t…
Bloggers usually have one of two reactions to #Write31Days: they’re scared stiff to try it, or they’re ready to jump in with both feet. I’ve shared my top 13 tips on preparing for #Write31Days. And I’ve given you 13 reasons why you should write a #Write31Days series. But now? I’ll give you the honest truth. There…
I am Javert. I see everything black and white. Justice, all must be fair. Yet, I am Eponine. Dirty and rotten. Ever failing. So desperately in need of mercy. Then there are my little Cosettes looking up at me. Innocent in so many ways yet already in need of grace. And I feel the struggle…
“Mom, when I grow up, I’m going to have the perfect life.” So said my almost-six-year-old yesterday afternoon. She went on to describe the perfect Aspen trees she’d climb, the horses she’d ride. And I lost track of her detailed perfection as I looked around at the toys strewn all over the floor, her mis-matched outfit and…
Have you been hearing the blogosphere buzz about #Write31Days and wondering why in the world you’d want to publish a post every day during the month of October? Here are 13 reasons why you’d want to write a 31 Days series. 1. As a service to your readers. Your 31 Days series should be on…
“Where did you get that red hair?” My brother and I heard the question over and over growing up, since we sported identical shades of dark red hair–mine curly, his anything but. “From both sides of the family,” we’d explain. We had three great grandpas with red hair, only one of whom we ever knew….
Sunday morning worship time isn’t always very conducive to worship when you’re a mom. I breathe a big sigh of relief if we even make it there on time and in one piece. And then I try to sing the right words at the right time while balancing a child in one arm and a…
#Write31Days is for bloggers what NaNoWriMo is for authors. In November, authors all over the world commit to writing 50,000 words during National Novel Writing Month. In October, bloggers all over the blogosphere commit to publishing one post per day, linking up their own 31 Days series with the thousands of others on the host blogs. NaNoWriMo…
Gone are the days of email’s infancy when “You’ve got mail!” was a delightful and potentially romantic announcement. Now just the two words “email inbox” put together in a sentence are enough to make anyone, regardless of profession, break out into a cold sweat. If you’re like me, you had almost given upon reading the…
The End.
The End.
