We naturally expect our kids to learn things over the course of a year of school. What I hadn’t anticipated, though, is how much I would learn. Over the past couple of days I’ve been doing some thinking about what I’ve learned (and relearned) this year, and I […]
They captivate me. Glimmering golden alongside the road, making the most ordinary of routes feel like a wondrous journey. Wildflowers budding and blooming anew, proclaiming spring’s arrival even if the wind still blows cold. They draw me in every year. Their blooms call to something in my […]
It’s springtime, which in my part of the world means pollen, azaleas, flip-flops, and little league baseball. I never grew up in the world of little league and rec-department sports, so the past three years that my daughter has been playing teeball have felt like an extended cultural study. I’ve […]
Dear friend, You’re not the only one. For years I was alone. Not alone alone, because I had my husband and family and all…but really, I was alone. My life was defined by feeling alone in a crowded room. Maybe you know the lonely feeling I’m talking about. I’m not […]
I’ve been doing some wrestling lately. While there hasn’t been any physical “taking to the mats,” there definitely has been some throwing down, of sorts, in my mind and in my spirit. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly where or when the wrestling match started, or if I was […]
A few months ago, I had the incredible opportunity to meet my absolute favorite singer and songwriter. Nichole Nordemann’s music was literally the soundtrack to God’s taking hold of my heart when I was a senior in college, and I have ever since thought of her as something of a spiritual […]
I had a bad feeling about things, so I rested my hand as gently as I could on the tiny rabbit in my lap and began to pray. “Lord, if this tiny animal is in any pain, take that pain away. Show me what to do to help. […]
I’m sitting at my desk – in my office – for the first time in almost a week. I preached at my home church a week ago, and that sermon consumed me. Absolutely consumed me. I told my congregation at church on Sunday that I had been […]
For over two years, I have kept the tradition of taking a picture a day – just one picture – that represents my day. I take the snapshot on my phone, and – using the marvelous Rhonna app – add text to explain that day’s picture. I finish […]
She and I were having a particularly bad morning. In the process of getting ready for church I had raised my voice more times than I could count, and she was currently dissolved in tears for the third time since breakfast. As we backed out of the driveway […]
Jessica Bolyard | Writer and Speaker 