A tear traveled up from that deep place her story had awakened. I could hear the little voices of our daughters playing in the other room. Effortlessly they giggled and played as if worlds never collided, as if we all were simply girls.

I met her my last year of college. Her name was typed out on the list of cleaning jobs thumb tacked to the bulletin board in the student center. I put down my duster to jot down her name, Willette Lanning.

We made small talk for a little while before I passed out the little communion cups. It had been years since she had been able to go to church because of her health, so it felt a little like Christmas.

Could the Three Kings of the Christmas Story inspire us today in their pursuit of the star? A Christmas Devotion.

Sipping the steaming coffee in my to-go cup, I noticed a plastic nativity scene set up by the side door of a small brick house. Then the light turned green so I quickly focused on the road, but I frowned.

In a diary entry, my eighteen-year-old hand wrote an audacious goal: To someday have a garden.

Do you struggle with over commitment. Is it hard to say “no”? Me too! Read on to see how I am taking back the wheel.

Through one of my earliest memories my heart shares its longing to be noticed and cared for. This invitation is also for you to slow down and allow God to attend to your heart.