Musings on life, parenting, Jesus, and more...

We hear all the time about how politics divides our country, but recently I experienced it on a deeply personal level—and it honestly broke my heart. If I’m being candid, the last three presidential elections have been tough for me. I’ve never felt like we had truly great candidates to choose from, and I’ve never fully aligned with everything either the Democrats or Republicans stand for. Voting strictly along party lines has never been my style. Instead, I do my best to choose the candidate I believe will run the country responsibly—even if they aren’t the most likable person in the room. I’m grateful to live in a democracy where I get to vote, and I take that responsibility seriously. But to me, voting is a civic duty—it’s not a litmus test for friendship or family relationships. I fully respect that everyone brings their own experiences, values, and priorities to the table. We all see the world through our own lens. That’s why I try to put my energy into things I can directly ...

I am so disenchanted with our US healthcare system. I had to switch insurance back in January and I’ve been paying $480 a month for a health insurance plan that I haven’t been able to use it all, because I haven’t been able to get in with a primary care doctor to talk about my concerns, and none of them are so urgent that I feel like I need to go to an urgent care or emergency room over. So I have just been left to my own devices, to do my own research and try to figure out things on my own. I am thankful that my plan is a high deductible plan that qualifies for a health savings account so I was able to put $4150 (pre-tax) into my health savings account at the beginning of the year when I started the plan, and I’ve been able to use that money on things like a gym membership, vitamins, and supplements, and even some tech related items like a heart rate monitor and smart scale. The reason I qualified to make those purchases with my health savings account is because I’m obese, according t...

I know there’s a lot of heavy stuff going on in our world right now. Our country is divided, and even though I support our president and believe that he will do good in our country, there are also lots of things happening that I don’t agree with, and I sometimes struggle to feel “proud to be an American” .  I know there are people who dedicate their lives to justice and pointing out the things that are wrong in our country and in our world. I am not one of those people, to be honest, and throughout the course of my 46 years I have learned that for my own mental health and sanity, I need to focus on the good. It doesn’t mean I turn a blind eye or pretend there aren’t bad things happening, it just means that I choose to find the good that’s out there, and put my focus and energy into that as much as possible. Today I want to share how excited I am to see a generation of people dedicated to healing their trauma and creating a better future for the generations that come after us. I’ve ...

My sister and I have never been close. I think she would agree. As kids, I wasn’t very nice to her and I’m still to this day not sure why. I mean, there’s normal sibling rivalry, I get that. I have two teenage girls of my own. But growing up, I almost felt like my parents pitted us against each other on purpose, and I definitely felt like the “bad kid” while my little sister could do no wrong, so I think that just created a lot of bitterness towards her from the start. As my parents relationship deteriorated, so did my behavior and I remember doing really mean things to my sister. She remembers me dipping her toothbrush in the toilet, and not telling her until after she had used it, and I remember holding her down and dripping lugies towards her face, sometimes dropping them (accidentally of course). I’m embarrassed to admit it but that’s the type of sister that I was. I have apologized over the years and she has forgiven me, but I still think it has affected our ability to be friends....