There once was a girl who loved her family, her dog, books, and Jesus. Spoiler alert – it's me.
Last Sunday, I was talking with friends and shared the story of the time I accidentally volunteered to be kidnapped. It's not one of my finest moments and leaves us all wondering how I've made it this long or successfully raised two children to adulthood. My best friend from university lives in Greenville, SC, and… Continue reading Remember that time…
Anyone else weary? My heart is heavy, my mind is distracted, and my soul aches. These weeks of quarantine and protests have stripped away the pretense in our lives and have revealed things about our nation that are downright ugly. Those who hoarded toilet paper or scooped up all the hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes… Continue reading I don’t know what to say
I can't get George Floyd's voice pleading, "I can't breathe," out of my head. It's haunting me. It should be haunting you.
Every Monday at 10:30, our team meets to discuss our Hits and Misses from Sunday. Each team gives a brief rundown of what we did right, what we did wrong, and what needs to be improved.Now that parts of the country are starting to re-open, I've been reflecting on my hits and swing-and-a-misses while I've… Continue reading Living in the land of Un
The devil knows your weakness better than you know yourself. He knows how to creep into those vulnerable places and whisper that you're not enough. You're not smart enough, pretty enough, strong enough. Lies. It's all lies.
I have very vivid memories of the events surrounding my father's death. It was February 1991. Roy and I were newlyweds, still in that hazy "Isn't the world a beautiful place!?" fog. I'd gone to pick up a few groceries after work, and as I crossed the railroad tracks near our house - too fast… Continue reading Liar, Liar
Early last year I read Lysa TerKeurst's book, It's Not Supposed to Be This Way. I cannot recommend it - or any of her other books - highly enough. Lysa, (I call her Lysa because even though I've never met her in person and only read her books I'm sure she'd want to be best… Continue reading A gift tied up with barbed wire
So I took a little break from posting, just in case you couldn't tell. Frankly, 2019 was quite the year - I know 2020 has been quite the shirt show (thanks Good Place) - but for me, 2019 started with a "WAIT, WHAT JUST HAPPENED?" moment and ended with a resounding, "Well that sucked." In… Continue reading Wait, what just happened?
Whether you're raising littles or still learning yourself, self-control is key to maturity. Every child has temper tantrums. They're little balls of energy with outsize emotions they don't know what to do with. It's our job as parents to teach them that there's nothing wrong with having feelings, even overwhelming ones, but it is wrong to use them as a weapon. Children who don't learn self-control grow up to be emotionally manipulative adults.
I originally wrote this article for Sunday U back in 2018. When we first started out in ministry, my husband and I worked under a pastor in his mid-sixties who intended to “die in the pulpit.” He’d frequently say, “I’d rather rust out than burn out!” Frankly, neither of those options sounded particularly appealing then,… Continue reading Coming Back From Burnout
Tracey Mac Lean Dowdy 