Dear Judson…

It’s hard for me to believe you would be turning ten years old today. It’s such a milestone birthday! But you’re not here.

It’s been so long since you were here. It’s been so long since I got to see you blow out your candles, open gifts, and eat your favorite meal. In fact, I don’t even know what you’d…

Dear Sweet Man…

Have I really survived seven years without you? The other day, as I was thinking about the 7th anniversary of your death, I was surprised to feel a jolt of encouragement. Seven years feels like a really long time. And it has been a long time. But I was overcome by the thought that if I can live seven years in your absence, surely I can…

Our hearts can so easily stray—wander from the truth, drift from the grace, roam from the love that has rescued us. On one level it’s hard to imagine. How could we not be fully anchored when we have tasted of God’s goodness in our lives? Yet, on another level, we are…

Yesterday was the first day of school for our daughter Jessie. So much eagerness, excitement, and anxiety filled the days, hours, and seconds leading up to the moment our little lady walked through the doors of her new classroom with an unknown teacher, ready to engage all the unfamiliarness…

Like many, I have watched in awe as the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge spread like wildfire throughout our nation, likely touching everyone with access to any form of media. I have marveled…

The other day I was cleaning our patio, which lead me to rearrange the table and chairs. We had Judson’s windchime hanging from a nail off a short awning, along with a couple little birdhouses. After making some adjustments, the windchime was no longer centered over the patio table the way I prefer it. But I realized if I switched the windchime and one of the birdhouses to opposite nails, everything would be aligned perfectly.

As I was rehanging the chime with my left hand, I suddenly jumped and screamed…