uptomytoes

Tag: hope

  • Be Brave

    There is a piece of paper I taped to the window in front of my desk that says, “Be Brave Enough to Disappoint” because I’m a people pleaser. Someone who breathes for affirmation. Someone who seeks love and acceptance probably a little like a crazy person.  I’ll do almost anything to make someone else feel…

  • Modeling Lovable

  • Dogeared and Dearly Loved

    Dogeared: (adj.) Having many pages with corners that have been folded down, usually a sign of heavy use. I never used to fold down the corner of book pages. It would be shocking to me to ruin the clean, flat, perfect look of a page. Now, I almost take pleasure in bending that little bit…

  • If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Another

    I’ve had some trust issues. Many of us probably have or do, at least at one time or another. Sometimes trust issues look like not trusting others, sometimes it’s more about not trusting ourselves, and sometimes we just flat out don’t really trust God. I’ve struggled with all three of those at one point or…

  • Counting It All Good

    One Sunday when I was in my early teens, my mom and I sang a song together at church. I remember how nervous I was while I waited in the front pew for the end of the Scripture reading. Mom and I walked up together, stood behind the pulpit, placed our hymnal down, and waited…

  • Don’t Fence Me Out

    I have fond memories of my dad singing little ditties as he went about his day. Most were a little tongue and cheek, and all made me laugh. One he often sang, I’m sure to my mom’s delight, was “Don’t Fence Me In”… “Oh, give me land, lots of landUnder starry skies aboveDon’t fence me…

  • Redeemed, Restored, Resting

    I grabbed a whole row because my sweethearts were coming in behind me. I laid down my jacket, my purse, my Bible, my journal, and a few bulletins throughout the row to make sure I had enough seats. As they all filed in, I felt my smile grow bigger and bigger. These beautiful young people…

  • Everything is OK

    There is a stump where a big beautiful oak tree used to stand tall over the river. We called it “Grandpa’s Tree” because my dad used to like to sit under it and quietly look out at the water. It’s a special spot for our family. We miss my dad and now we miss the…

  • How Honest Do I Really Need to Be?

    A few weeks ago I felt convicted that I needed to share more – write more. And I knew that to some degree it would be a humbling experience because my life is messy, crisis-prone, exhausting, and somewhat embarrassing. Last night something happened that tends to happen a bit more than I’d like lately, and…

  • No Drowning Allowed

    I don’t know if you ever played this silly game when you were young, but my friends and I thought it was hysterical to pretend we were drowning. Usually in the shallow end. We would jump up above the water, put one finger up, take an exaggerated gulp of air, and dramatically go under. Then…