Just A Mom from Ohio

(Started Feb 2017, Published Feb 2018) Love. My daughter and son received these adorable valentine's cards with army figures on them which I strategically placed in the picture. In this dollhouse, the bedroom is where the battle is about to go down. Do you think it started with the toilet seat that was left up or something bigger? Love is a battlefield. Isn't that the truth? Phew! I'll say. I can't think of many times where I felt like I came out on the winning side of love. Except, of course, the most critical, Jesus. I'm so grateful that I finally believe in the unmatched love my Savior has for me. He loves you too! Last year January, I asked my uncle that loves to study theology about why it is so common to use 1 Corinthians  13 in marriage vows. My uncle has officiated several weddings, including my own. My specific questions were: 1) why use that passage of Scripture and 2) if the people being wed were to have already achieved this type of love ...

This might be a controversial question, but is there a right way to pray? I heard a sermon a few weeks ago that inspired me on a "way to pray" based on Scripture. I was super pumped about it and posted that I wanted to write a blog that week about it. Then life continued on and I procrastinated on writing this post. So here I am, weeks later, questioning my original idea of what I wanted to write. With the new year, there has been several new songs playing on my favorite radio channel, Air1 radio . One new song is by Riley Clemons called "Broken Prayers" (see the video below). I heard it yesterday and today twice already and its just after lunch. Now I'm writing (and being obedient). I'm conflicted about the format of prayer and the desperation of prayer.   I've gone through many seasons where I had to force myself to let go of the "right way" to do things, the "religious" way. That is part of what I love about the ...

WORDS...mine have been lacking lately. I haven't published a blog post in almost 6 weeks. That is not the best strategy for building a following. But sometimes I need to be quiet and listen instead of speaking and getting my point across. Earlier today, I heard 2 songs that caught my attention. The 1st was "Words" by Hawk Nelson and the 2nd was "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) by Hillsong United. I love the song "Oceans". You should see me or hear me when I belt it out in the car. It's been out awhile and can still almost bring me to tears. It is just powerful. So what do the 2 songs have to do with each other? Well, I guess I just wrote it, power . Words are powerful. Hence songs are powerful. I don't want to write and post blogs just to push out content. There needs to be purpose and meaning. I was struck and humbled by the lyrics of both of these songs tonight and just wanted to share what is on my heart. ' Death and life are in the ...

As the Daniel Tiger song goes, "a neighbor is here to help, a neighbor is here to help". Coincidentally the episode all about ways to be a neighbor was on this morning. I love this show! How silly of me but it is truly my favorite kids show because I am learning too. Learning the little songs to help me in my many moments of parenting challenges. I even have the DT Parents app on my phone which features all the songs when you may need them on the go.  Is being a good neighbor mowing the lawn on the same day everyone else does, keeping the bushes trimmed, and the mulch fresh? Is it waving hello and smiling when you see each other? Moving into a new neighborhood has sparked an awareness in me about neighboring. Our real estate agent held an open house and pie event for the neighbors to come over about a month after we moved in. It was interesting because some of the people didn't know each well and this was a good opportunity to say hello and reconnect a neighborhoo...

Music is so crucial to my heart. It has been a friend when no one else seemed to see me. It has been an escape. I love how music can transport me to another world. If I am sad, some songs help me to release that, or can turn it to anger. I'm sad and still in shock about the suicide of Linkin Park's, Chester Bennington , as I deeply connected to much of his vocals. His raw sound, his heartfelt scream, and occasional quiet sounds would come alive through the speakers to me. I remember when the first album came out, I was in high school, and in deep emotional pain. In my teenage world, it really didn't feel like anything mattered, especially the truth. It felt like a waste. I couldn't do anything about it, so I spent a lot of time alone and writing. When Chester sang, I felt like he was able to yell out the many feelings buried deep inside of me. I never could scream and always wanted to. I choose now to listen to mainly Christian radio. One artist I follow is Blanca...