The other day I was out running when I saw a big sign in the back of a car that said, "Pray to End Abortion!" I stared at the back of that car as it drove down the street away from me and I couldn't help but think, 'Isn't that kind of missing the point?' Don't get me wrong, I am morally opposed to abortion. I believe in the sanctity of human life and I believe that all life should be protected and cherished, especially the lives of those who have no voice to advocate for themselves. I … [Read more...]
Because of your words…
Just a little encouragement that sharing your story with others around you can offer them help and healing. Your story is a gift! ______________________________________________ Please visit our Sponsors: 5 Simple Ingredients - doTERRA Essential Oils … [Read more...]
What’s Your Story? Giving Hope and Healing through the Gift of Story
As we think about what it means to see other people in light of their stories - their unique situations and experiences and circumstances - it's also important to take hold of our own stories, and how our stories can impact others in the world around us. Just like we can't know the stories of people around us that we come into contact with unless we take the time to ask them and to listen, others around us can't know our stories or where we are coming from unless we share it with them. I … [Read more...]
I’m Wrecked: What I’m Into in February
So y'all, I want more than anything to just pour you a cup of coffee with my homemade vanilla creamer, and cozy up on my couch, with toys scattered around on my floor and dirty dishes in my sink and just chat like friends, like sisters, because that's what we are in Christ. I'm an extrovert, so talking is how I process my thoughts and feelings, how I organize things in my mind before I can truly know what I think and believe. Talking is usually what I do before I sit and write the words on … [Read more...]
Where Should Baby Sleep? The Case for Co-Sleeping
"Is she sleeping through the night yet?" The worst question that could ever be asked of a new mom. EVER! Becuase, um, news flash: Babies don't (and shouldn't) really conform to our ideals of what it means to sleep for long periods without waking, at nighttime. I mean pretty much anyone who's ever had a baby, or taken care of someone else's baby, could probably tell you that. And yet, how a baby is sleeping is always at the very top of other people's priority list for your baby. So, you … [Read more...]
10 Reasons I Am the Worst Mom Ever!!
According to my children, I am the absolute worstest mom ever! EVER! Insert: stomps off and slams door! When you ask them why, here's what they'll tell you. 10 Reasons My Mom is the WORST mom EVER! 1. She makes me wear my coat just because it's cold out. But I NEVER get cold! That coat is so big and bulky and totally cramps my style - what does below zero mean anyway?? How can anything be less than zero? 2. She wastes a lot of time making these terrible dinners every night that … [Read more...]
Why You Need to Stop Judging and Put on Love
I caught myself doing it again today. I was driving my kids to school this morning and passed two people bundled up and walking along the road. They were walking on the road instead of the sidewalk, because the sidewalks are completely covered in snow, but I was annoyed that I had to slow down to go around them because there was a car in the lane next to me. I wondered why they were even walking on the street when it's so cold out. Or I was at the grocery store picking up a few things for … [Read more...]
No Man Made a Greater Mistake…
I recently saw this quote on my friend Beth at Red and Honey's blog and I just thought it was amazing and important. When it comes to both green and natural living, and issues of faith and social justice, it can be easy to believe the lie that we cannot make a difference. That the choices we make don't matter. But let us remember that doing nothing is far, far worse than doing something - even if it is only a little. And together, little things can become great things in our lives and … [Read more...]
Want to Live More Intentionally? You Need to Simplify Your Life!
This post is part of the Blue Bike Blog Tour, which I’m thrilled to be part of. To learn more and join us, head here. In that moment, watching snow flurries fall against a redbrick backdrop out of a coffee-shop window in downtown Bend, I realized that unless our family made more intentional, proactive choices, instead of just constantly talking about wishing things weren’t so busy, we would go on forever wanting a different life. -Tsh Oxenrieder, Notes from a Blue Bike In the … [Read more...]
Humanity is like an enormous spider web…
*Disclosure – There are affiliate links in this post. If you make a purchase through one of my links, I’ll receive a small commission. Thanks for supporting Live Renewed! I first read this quote in the More With Less Cookbook (which surprisingly, the first two chapters of the book before the recipes are extremely inspiring for why it's important to make intentional and conscious choices about the way we choose to live our lives) and it has stuck with me since then. I really love the whole … [Read more...]