Scandinavian countries are consistently reported as among the happiest nations in the world. Yet all the things we usually associate with living your best life–more money, fabulous things, heck, even SUNSHINE–are not found in abundance there. So how is it that the Scandi people find so much happiness in their cold, dark climates? Take a […]

I patted around on my nightstand until I felt my phone.  I pressed the button and opened my eyes.  7:45am.  A far cry from 6:15 when I wanted to start my day. 14 new emails overnight. 10 Facebook notifications. Pinterest, Instagram, and more called out for my attention before I even sat up. I need […]

Forgiveness is a funny thing. It seems so simple at first.  Someone does something wrong, they apologize, and you forgive them. Only what if they don’t apologize? Or what if they do, but you still can’t seem to get over it? The hurt just follows you around. It seems like a little thing, not a […]

I’ve seen several videos about the standard of beauty and how it changed over the centuries.  The funny thing is, they’re all wrong, because you see…. There is no standard of beauty. Throughout history, artists have become famous generation after generation for breaking the mold, veering from the commonly agreed standard of beauty and creating […]

A daisy rested in a crystal clear mason jar as the morning sun glittered through the sheer window curtains. She looked out into the garden and sighed, “if only I were as elegant as the rose.” “The rose is so sultry with her voluptuous blossom and deep crimson petals.  She’s strong too, able to stand her […]

I looked at the clock.  3:37 am 3:37 AM?! Human eyes are not meant to see 3:37 am. It’s well-beyond the “I stayed up late” hours and far too premature for “I woke up early”. Yet here I was entertaining my 14 month old son in the middle of the night.  He had been awake for about […]

It was one of those weeks… We had been super busy, in and out of the house just long enough to leave stuff where we dropped it and head out to the next thing. And the house was a wreck! There were dirty dishes in the living room, the bedrooms, the bathroom… (the bathroom?! Don’t ask.) I […]

Do you ever feel like nothing more than an eyebrow in the body of Christ? 12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave […]

I thought I had outgrown these feelings, but here I am again, lying in bed, imagining all sorts of horrible things.  The stillness in the dark only makes it worse.  There are no sounds to distract me from the “what ifs” running wild in my head.  Fear No one likes to admit they struggle with fear. […]

Last year, I was inspired to start a 365 day gratitude journal on my Instagram account. Part of my motivation was to push myself to really learn and appreciate Instagram. I definitely accomplished that! I even met a new friend through Instagram who shares my passion for connecting and inspiring women, living simply, and following […]