Today is the fourth of July—the 250th anniversary of our country’s freedom, in fact. And while my thoughts this morning began with how grateful I am for the freedom we have in this country, they soon turned to the church and what I’m seeing and hearing right now. My heart breaks when I read posts from people online that vilify fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. And the mean-spirited comments I read under these posts (I should know by now to never read the comments) have b

Over the course of our marriage, my husband, Stewart, and I have had four dogs. First, there was Allie. Allie was our “first child,” our princess. She never met a stranger, and she was extraordinarily intelligent. If Allie were a person, she would have earned a full-ride scholarship to the university of her choosing and likely picked up a few Nobel Peace Prizes along the way. We rescued Allie when she was a ten-week-old puppy while on a youth trip to Alabama with our Kentucky

Ah, the ancient playground relic known as the see-saw. A simple plank of wood balanced across a metal beam once provided both thrill and terror to children on playgrounds everywhere. I personally enjoyed the see-saw—if I happened to be on it with the right person. If, for instance, my friend Jennifer was on the other side, it was always fun. We were about the same size, and we were both kind children who actually cared about each other’s well-being. Jennifer and I could go up

Last year around this time, my husband and I were given a gift. Not money. Not a vacation. It was the gift of time, sweat, food, and a whole lot of love from our church family. Here’s why. The fall of 2024 fell like a line of dominoes someone pushed a little too hard. First, my doctor found a skin cancer that led to surgery in October. Then in November, I had a nodule on my thyroid removed. Pathology report came back: cancer. December brought another surgery. Then, there was