Category: Be Brave

I sat alone in a small sterile room for 75 minutes yesterday waiting to see a doctor. I had already taken my top off and was wearing the white robe with the pink collar they give to all the breast cancer patients.

At some point I gave up on the straight chair and decided to catch a little nap on the ... Read More


Have you ever felt like no one could possibly understand the chaotic and complicated inner workings of your brain? Even if you could explain them, it wouldn’t make much sense to an outsider, right? They are uniquely you.

Like the time I was in fourth grade and insisted on sleeping outside my dad’s bedroom door for three months. My parents had ... Read More


I was driving Ben to basketball the other day when I heard this from the backseat: Mom, why did God let our friends become homeless?

Oh boy. Some people close to us are going through a very tough time and my six year old has been wrestling with big issues. I took a deep breath and then tried to delicately pick ... Read More


Something freaky has been happening. First, I have to explain that I have an obsession with license plates. Not all license plates; just the ones that begin with GGG.

About a year ago I saw my first GGG license plate and for some reason, it triggered a response in my mind. I immediately thought GGG: that stands for God the Father, ... Read More


I have the flu. Pretty much everyone I’ve talked to in the last few days seems to have it. I wonder if you might have a touch of it too?

It’s not the 24 hour kind or the kind that has you running for the bathroom. No cough or sniffles, but you might find your eyes leaking occasionally.

It’s the kind that ... Read More


I have two friends waiting for test results. I’m not talking the “I wonder what I got on my math quiz” sort of test. I’m talking big tests. Bad tests. Scary tests.

Another friend is trying to figure out where she and her kids are going to live next month.

Me? My problems are little in comparison, but they still weigh me ... Read More


For as much time as we spend together, when I look at my little family, I have to admit, we aren’t great at spending time to together.

There comes a point in the evenings where we all end up in the living room at the same time. I’m watching HGTV, Jordan is looking at her phone, Charlie and Ben are on ... Read More


The demon of depression has chased me since I was a kid. I remember being in elementary school and feeling like my chest had a heavy weight sitting on it. I didn’t know what it was at the time– even after a teenage suicide attempt, it took me well into my adulthood to come up with the diagnosis “depression.”

The last ... Read More


Have you ever been on a reality show? Me neither, but now I can say I’ve come awfully close.

Saul and I had the unique experience of spending the last nine months with a woman from Ohio University named Hailee Tavoian. The words “strategy” and “advancement” and “marketing” are all in her title, but big words scare me, so I don’t ... Read More


Jordan almost started her New Year’s Resolution yesterday. She wants to see how many days in a row she can log 10,000 steps on her fitbit. We were about four shows deep into a mother-daughter Tiny House Hunters marathon when she realized she only had 2,000 steps. Day One was going to be a bust. Until…

Jordan at age 12 figured ... Read More