I had a goal to read all 4 gospels in the month of September, which will most likely run in October because #Life. Have you noticed that Jesus brought peace in each encounter He had: when He healed or diffused an argument or met a challenge?

I am my own worst enemy. I get stuck in my head and play all the scenarios. I am super hard on myself. I have not been great at giving myself grace. I am working on that. One thing I have learned is when I am spiraling in my thoughts, emotions or behavior it is usually connected to when I feel hurt, angry, overwhelmed, powerless or scared.

If you were with me in elementary and middle school you would know how much I loved to dream and imagine. I would get lost in worlds that were not like mine. Reading, TV, movies…anything that would let me be somewhere else. I can suspend reality and be there in the plot, however crazy and unrealistic. It drives Dean crazy, he’s much more of a realist.

Let’s play a word association game! I say a word and say what comes to mind. Ready?Rut; Limited; Online; Zoom; Compassion

Have you heard the saying: “It’s as slow as molasses going uphill in January”? It may be a New England thing. That’s how I feel right now. It feels hard to keep moving. Anyone else? Words are important to me. For so many years, I did not have the words to say how I was feeling. I used tv, movies and books to escape and get lost in fictional worlds. It was easier than dealing with what was happening in mine and not having the tools to express myself.

The Terrible Two’s. I’ve heard about it and have seen it action, so as a young mom I was gearing up for that battle. But, why didn’t anyone tell me that three was worse than two?!?! After sharing my horror stories, Mrs. Barnett, the child-whisperer at Ben’s pre-school, shared that is the year of in-between, the year of change. That in-between time of not being who they were and not fully being who they are growing into.

I have sat in my house and listened. I have sat in my house and cried. I have sat in my house feeling overwhelmed and lonely. I have sat in my house and laughed. I have sat in my house and was brave. I have sat in my house and celebrated. I have sat in my house and ate too much. Lord, help me!

In his book “Irresistible” Andy Stanley writes: “Jesus made love a verb and then used the imperative form of the verb. This was, in fact, a command. As in, go over there and love that guy.” The verse Mr. Stanley is referring to is John 13:34: “A new command I give you; Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” The guys sitting around the table that night, did not have the cross to see an example of Jesus’ love. They did have three years experiencing and watching. Think about that…

“My dad is bigger than your dad!” I wrote that in my Bible next to Psalm 18. I remember that being a playground taunt kids would say to remind everyone else “I’m not alone and you’d better watch out”. Psalm 18 is a great reminder just how big our God is and how He fights for us.

I woke up with a deep sadness, I didn’t have a specific reason, it just hung on me like a cloak. Dean is working back at the office, but I shouldn’t be that sad. I put worship music on while getting ready, trying to shake off the funk I was in. I started to cry and that broke the damn. I mean it was ugly, ugly crying. It lasted a couple of songs and while I felt silly, I also felt lighter.

“Chippie the Parakeet never saw it coming. One second he was peacefully perched in his cage. The next he was sucked in, washed up, and blown over. The problems began when Chippie’s owner decided to clean Chippie’s cage with a vacuum cleaner