: Call Me a Heretic, But the Bible Isn't What You Think It Is “I love you,” she said, “I just don’t love what you’re doing. I mean, I love you, but I hate your …
: The Blessings and Challenges of Food Banks I’ve been on the giving end and I’ve been on the receiving end. And in a dark time, a food bank can …
: The Sunday School Trauma that Shaped My Politics I was raised in a conservative evangelical family. And like a lot of typical evangelical kids, I was …
: When Being Poor Becomes a Show Poor people aren’t zoo animals. Stop inspecting their carts, filming their food bank lines, and …
: Your View of God Doesn't Come from the Bible Your inner view of God probably doesn't come from the Bible, not completely. How we understand and …
: Beyond the Canned Food Drive: Are Churches Settling for Feel-Good Charity? I love seeing churches care for their communities. I love that people are giving, sharing, …
: The Shaming of Single Moms Today’s social media tragedy was a mom on Threads bashing single moms for ‘living off the system’ …
: Why Does America Hate Snap? Scroll through any social feed and you’ll see the same fight: who ‘deserves’ help eating? America. …
: Churches and the Baby Formula Scam I saw a content creator call a whole bunch of churches pretending she’d run out of formula and her …
: I Bet You Won't Read this Social Media Post Social media is rewiring our brains and it is designed to do so. I’ve been studying social media …
: With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility Do you think it’s ethical to be a billionaire? When I was younger, I thought people could just be as …
: Micro-Preemies And Million Dollar Babies My oldest was a micro-preemie—born more than three months early. The NICU nurses called them …
: Confirmation Bias Do you know what confirmation bias is? Confirmation bias is the phenomena where we only take in …
: What's a Living Wage? The federal poverty line is $15, 650 per year for a single person. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 …
: Food Insecurity If only there were organizations that could collect wasted food and hand it out to people who need …
: The Poor Tax . You've probably heard of the 'pink tax' - where manufacturers will make something in pink or even …
: Who Deserves to Eat? Who deserves to eat? Moreover, who gets to decide who eats? And what are the determining factors? …
: Shady AI Videos This shouldn't have surprised me, but it did. There are a number of AI-created videos rolling around …
: How Much Do You Spend on Food? How much do you actually spend on food? How do you compare to the national average? The USDA offers …
: What the Bible Actually Says about the Poor I saw a pastor on threads railing against people who were on SNAP benefits. He said if they are able …
: Food Insecurity Sometimes I'm still mad at myself for what I didn't know. But when I became a foster parent, I saw …
: False Premise on the USDA Website If you go to the USDA website, you will see that the democrats are being blamed for the withholding …
: Empathy and the Image of God Of all the controversies I’ve experienced in my life, I never expected empathy to be one of them. …
: SNAP Benefits Everyone Today I was called dense for believing that SNAP benefits the local economy. But look at this: If …
: Don't despise the small beginnings I like to go all in. Rip off the band-aid, jump in head first, and throw everything I've got at my …
: Taking Inventory If you asked most people, they would probably admit that their life just doesn't look quite like …
: Seeds, Weeds, and Soul Soil Seeds, Weeds, and Soul Soil by Amanda Whittington I'm so excited to announce my new book, Seeds, …
: When Your Dandelion Wishes Get Mowed Down It was an exceptionally good year for dandelions. And as I looked out over our yard, I could see …
: NIV Artisan Collection Bible I confess. I have a tendency to geek out a bit when it comes to books, but I really hit geek …
: Fanning the flame [video width=“640” height=“360” …
: Imago Dei Imago Dei. I like the sound of that, Imago Dei. It sounds sort of ethereal and mysterious to me, …
: Chickens are easy keepers. Chicken-love is spreading. From the suburbs of LA to the backyards of PA, chickens are the new black …
: Spring Will Come. The chickens refused to leave the comfort of their coop, the goats remained nestled in their …
: I could learn a lot from a chicken It's not uncommon to hear a cackle here, a cackle there, a cackling throughout the day as our free …
: Dirt. Dirt. I find it splattered on the knees of little pairs of blue jeans and caked on the bottoms of …
: Sleep, Sweet Babies, Sleep It’s nearly proverbial, you know. That resistance to sleep that is wholly ingrained in the …
: I wish I wish we lived in a world where children didn’t have to go to school with empty rumbling …
: The voice in the storm 14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, 15 just as my Father knows me and …
: Rushing Spring I was ready. Ready to get my hands and feet in the soft warm dirt. Ready to get my spade, and my …
: Two of the most dreaded words in parenting vocabulary. Parent pickup. Two of the most dreaded words in the parenting vocabulary. The angst multiples with …
: Feeling dried up, worn out, deadened? We have hope. Feeling dried up, worn out, deadened? We have hope. “Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This …
: Back to Basics "10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and …
: Are You Ready for Christmas? Are you ready for Christmas? The closer the big day looms, the more frequently those very words are …
: He calls you Loved. God doesn’t want to be a stranger. He doesn’t condescend our failures, He descended to …
: Just Watch I know that God is always working, never sleeping, never lazy. He is not loligagging about on Sunday …
: I want to be great. I want to be great. Is that so wrong? To want to be great if greatness happens for great reasons? I …
: Time, It Just Fritters Sunrise and sunset, the dawning and the drawing to a close. The beginning and the ending. The new …
: When you don't feel spiritual Lest we feel like less of a God-follower. Lest we feel unspiritual. Lest we feel like we …
: I am Plan B. They are my Plan A. I always wanted them. Never for a second did I have to hesitate, to wonder if …
: The Master Gardener I love my garden. It is my oasis, my grocery store, my space to be quiet and think, my sanctuary to …
: Little blessings, great big grace It’s easy to forget, isn’t it? Easy to forget just how we have it so good. And …
: Grace for the grind We are creatures of habit, are we not? Easily falling into the routines and rhythms that make up out …
: You might have multiple toddlers if... Your fish tank is decorated in little stickers that come off of bananas, oranges, and apples. Your …
: ISO: New Mercy. Wore out the old one Some days. There are just some days, some weeks, some months. You know the ones. Where everything is …
: 10 Tips for surviving sleepless nights and tired days Sleep. I love sleep. And I know I need more, consistent nights of sleep. Even my dear sweet Dad …
: God's not done I like to have a plan. And I like it when my plan goes as planned. When everything fits into a neat …
: 20 excuses we tell God God called Moses to a very special task. A grand adventure, the moment of a lifetime, an incredible …
: 10 ways to get more done today Turn off the notifications on your cell phone. Only check email and messages during designated …
: Identity Crisis Jesus is her Savior, she said. Her Lord, she said. And heaven was her eternal home. She had no …
: Do you want to be rich? “Mommy, are we rich?"“Yes, honey, we are." “But we’re not REALLY …
: Abide with Me Today, I have no words. Just this, from Matt Maher.
: Monday When it’s Monday, and the alarm clock is yelling to get you out of your bed and the coffee …
: The secret to saner mornings There is a dream I have, of gently easing into my day, with a cup of coffee and a magazine and maybe …
: That one thing to find God when you're too busy Devotional time. Epic fail #532. Foiled again. I have such plans to be such a super Christian. To …
: 6 things no matter the busy Don’t we seem to lose sight of what’s the most important when we’re too busy? …
: 10 things you (and I) need to quit doing so we can stop the busy Oh, yeah. We want to stop the busy. We all want to stop the busy. We have quite the love-hate …
: When life gets too busy We are all so so busy. Can’t eat right, can’t think straight, have to make a list just …
: Leap of Faith [embed]youtu.be/xFntFdEGg…[/embed] Instant death. Game over. End of movie. End of my hero. …
: Satan loves Saturday night I think that I am not alone in this. I think a good night’s sleep is important, kind of …
: 100 Ways to Have More Joy Today Get some sun! Take a brisk walk. Go for the gabfest. Be kind to someone else. Make music. Preferably …
: I am a body shamer. How can I be beautiful? Peering, squinting, staring, turning, looking and sucking it in all at once …
: I heart salsa. Or how to grow your own salsa garden on your very own homestead. I never saw myself as much of a gardener, until last year when I suddenly developed an appreciation …
: Do not fear the darkness. “Mom, close the curtains. I don’t want the darkness to get in.” Honey, the …
: New Recipe: I Need a Chocolate Fix 3 Ingredient Paleo Chocolate Chocolate. In my house, it’s one of the 4 basic food groups. You know, protein, fruits and …
: A zombie apocalypse of biblical proportions Are you a believer? In zombies, I mean. In that utterly fascinated, can’t turn away but …
: 10 Reasons you need chickens of your very own [caption id=“attachment_931” align=“aligncenter” width=“512”] …
: 11 Life lessons as a foster parent 11 things I’ve learned as a foster parent… Don’t worry about the things that are …
: Living in the chocolate bunny hangover You went to church, yesterday, didn’t you? On that unbelievable day that we get to celebrate …
: Never a false hope There was that hard time, when my son was tiny, and frail, and his premature 2 1/2 pounds of life …
: 16 things I've heard as a foster mom. Most folks are well-intentioned, merely curious, really good , kind people who simply don’t …
: I'll come to you. “I know right where you are and I’ll come to you,” echoed my new husband in my …
: True confessions: 80% works I have a confession to make. Puh-lease, please please pretty please with sugar and a giant tasty …
: Just don't look in my garage: 10 tips to declutter your space Clutter kills my calm. I cannot stand to work in a cluttered messy environment. In order for me to …
: Hope at the homestead: when God got His hands dirty Life gets a little too heavy sometimes, when the bills roll in faster than the paychecks do, and the …
: Don't bash the baby-daddy. Nobody wants to be a birth parent. Nobody wants to have their child taken out of their arms and …
: In the waiting Waiting is hard work. It is blisteringly, back achingly hard work. I wish it was as simple as …
: Hope for the weary parent: 10 tips to make sure naptime is your time In my little world, with a homestead to build and music to schedule and blogs to write and an …
: Top 10 Reasons to turn your home into a homestead At the mention of a homestead, I always pictured Laura Ingalls Wilder running free through the …
: Foster care: it's not what you think I didn’t set out to become a foster mom. It simply wasn’t on my radar for a very long …
: What to do when I've lost my happy My ‘normal’ state of being is a happy contendedness. How I feel when all is well, life …
: Finding the awe and wonder.... in myself At 14 years of age, I mastered squats, wall sits, pull-ups, bear plank leg lifts, and dieting. …
: Like a chicken led to safety Psalm 91:1-4, NIV from www.biblegateway.com 1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will …
: just a little light in the deep, deep dark A heavy darkness seems to pervade these January days, like a chill that hits the bones of my soul. …
: This prayer I am praying all day today. Dear God, Please wreck my preconceived ideas of who I want You to be and show me Yourself as You …
: The Return of Reality and Where Do I Go from Here? The marathon has ended and the surreal inverse reality of the holiday season has finally come to a …
: Why? Such a tiny term, that little word why, but the very sound of it is like the screech of nails on the …
: Emmanuel, God with Us Advent - that glorious time of year where everything sparkles and shines and smells of cinnamon and …
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: Baby steps towards joy. I might have a bone to pick with Thanksgiving. I mean, I love a sleep-inducing, kitchen-trashing, …
: Nourish the body, nourish the soul and apple cobbler in a cup [caption id=“attachment_33” align=“alignnone” width=“300”] Hot …
: Slow Down and Sleep It took me a week, an over-filled, sweaty, ripe, grimey, headachey week to find 42 minutes to plop …
: Sense of wonder, sense of awe. Is this all there is to life? I am thirsty for something more. Each day is more of the same. A never …