simply me and jeans

A new year can bring so many things.  Joy and pain. Loss and gain. Excitement and boredom.  It can also change us, our perspective, and our expectations.  It can make our hearts harder or softer.  Gracious or judgmental.  Hopeful or hopeless. It can even bring life or death. It’s surprising to me, that I don’t […]

I forgot that it was my Daddy’s birthday last week. It was the first birthday without him and I didn’t call my Mom to check on her.  In fact, I only remembered because I went to see her that evening and she mentioned a call from her best friend because of it. That’s pretty bad! […]

Melancholy is as certain in my life as breathing. Learning to trust that it won’t last forever and riding the wave with grace instead of struggling against the feelings has been a lesson that has been a longtime coming. I’ve experienced years of God’s faithfulness to teach me and carry me through these melancholy storms […]

Spring has begun to show itself here in Texas and, although the winter has been mild, it’s a welcome friend. I love Spring with every part of my being.  I love the fragrance of fresh-cut grass, newly budding flowers and spring rains.  I love the vibrant colors of our Texas sunsets and the various shades […]

It’s Christmas afternoon and I’m sitting on my bed wishing that my knee would allow me to go for a run. I’ve never been a fast runner, but that didn’t matter.  I ran alone. I processed. I thought. And, sometimes, I cried. Ever since I ran my first mile with daddy at the age of 6 it’s […]

“Try to lighten someone’s load or make them smile. You never know what their day has been like and what pain they’re carrying.” If I had to list the top 10 lessons that I’ve learned from my parents,  this would be one of them. We’ve all had days that knock the wind right out of […]

I was at Starbucks for 2 hours today trying to make progress on this book we’re writing. That didn’t happen. Instead, I spent an hour talking to a young man about college, how tired he was, trying to encourage him and another hour trying to get my computer to work. Because I’d lost all focus, […]

I can’t sleep. I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve become accustomed to little sleep over the last 4 weeks or if it’s something else. I grab my headphones and turn on some worship music as I lie in the dark.  Surely I’ll fade into rest soon enough. But I don’t. There hasn’t been a […]

  The last three weeks have been crazy! They’ve not only been the darkest and loneliest weeks of my life but also the most powerful and  impactful time of my life.  I know that’s contradictory.  The whole journey has been a picture of contradiction.  Death and life.  Faith and fear. Solitude and support. Waiting and […]

Youthful ignorance saw myself as average.  A pretty vessel that could be used by the master but was just as easily left on the shelf as an addition to His collection or passed over in favor of the beautiful vases with curved necks and golden engravings.  Acceptable but not extraordinary. Experience proved myself to be […]