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What I’m Giving Myself for Christmas {Maybe you need it too?}

What I’m Giving Myself for Christmas {Maybe you need it too?}

in Christmas· Courage· Grace

For the umpteenth time, I wring my hands and stare out the window. Bright overhead sunlight drenches every surface and corner…
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Putting ‘Nice’ in Our Good Graces

Putting ‘Nice’ in Our Good Graces

in (In)Courage· Being a Woman· Grace

If there’s one word that finds me more than others, it’s ‘nice.’ Most of the time, I don’t mind it’s…
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How to Change the ‘If, Then What?’ Scenarios of Your Life

How to Change the ‘If, Then What?’ Scenarios of Your Life

in Creativity· Faith in Action· Grace

The four of us and our minivan pull into the parking lot of Powers Dental, and as I turn off…
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Loving Those Who Are Hard to Love

Loving Those Who Are Hard to Love

in Family· Grace

My son pushes open the heavy office door of the dentist’s office, and the four of us walk in, relieved…
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One Lesson You’ll Never Be Sorry to Learn

One Lesson You’ll Never Be Sorry to Learn

in Courage· Encouragement· Faith in Action· Family· Grace

It’s been awhile since my then young children and I had that talk on the old bedspread quilt under the…
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When Your Heart Needs to Be Understood

When Your Heart Needs to Be Understood

in Being a Woman· Friendship· Grace· Writing

My kids aren’t so grown I don’t remember those bleary-eyed yesterdays, the ones where I was knee deep in new…
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On Instagram

The sun sets on a downright delightful month of ha The sun sets on a downright delightful month of having all the chicks back in the nest. We puzzled, Uno’d, and played a new game called Knope for President. (So fun!) We watched Mandalorian all together, and David and I started a Netflix show called Turn. We had tea (and coffee!) at 4:30 each afternoon like some kind of Brit wanna-be’s. I cooked like a crazy person because cooking is the most predictable Enneagram 2 thing I do. Pot roast, spaghetti, and baked casseroles, oh my! Plus, 21 year olds who’ve had a semester of fending for themselves on the food front are mighty appreciative when dinner magically comes out of the oven. 

Said 21 year olds are back at college now, but I’m thankful for the good memories that stay with the rest of us Strongs after they’ve left. This last month held hard stuff for many of us, I know, but I hope it left you with some good memories as well. 💛
If your life looks anything like mine, difficult c If your life looks anything like mine, difficult change that started in 2020 didn't give one whit about the new year and walked right with you into 2021. Your change could be more broadly felt like fallout from a lingering pandemic, or it could be more individual —marital, parenting, job, or relational struggles that refuse to let go. 

Or  it could be both, one worsening the other.

If you’re weary from the loneliness that change can bring OR tired of resenting change altogether (and seeing it only through a lens of anxiety and frustration), consider giving #GirlMeetsChange and #BackRoadstoBelonging a look.

Our difficult change may not be going anywhere, but our outlook on it can. 

With both books holding 200-ish reviews on Amazon and a 4.8 star rating, I still get the loveliest messages about how they’ve helped folks welcome a hopeful view of change and where they belong. 

Visit my profile for links to both! 
#fromthebookstack
#whereIbelong
#changemanagement
#anxietyreducer
#fearmanagement
#livingfaithfully
My daughter read that this past Christmas season, My daughter read that this past Christmas season, Christmas light sales were up 300% compared to years past. We may leave ours up for another week or two, and I’m 300% okay with that. 

In the wise words of @iamtabithabrown, it’s my business. 

It’s also my business how I choose to respond to something—indeed, it is a choice. Will I be thoughtful or defensive? Will I be someone who displays or douses the light of Christ? 

In our work to love our neighbor as ourselves, may we be a people who persevere and refuse to stop using our own unique God-given light to dispel the dark. People are desperate for it, and this work matters.
Looking forward with hope in what is to come while Looking forward with hope in what is to come while staying thankful for what is left behind. 

Or, as Shania Twain would say, “Let’s go girls.” 🎶 👊🏻

Happy 7th day of Christmas, and Happy New Year, dear one! 

#GirlMeetsChange
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