Entering the Next Chapter

Over the last year, I have thought about, read about, and prayed for my future Boaz. The godly man who comes and protects and saves me. To me, Boaz was the amazing man who I have already placed on a pedestal before even meeting him. I tend to be the type of woman who places others, and more specifically men, on a pedestal. I have rose-colored glasses attached to my face and do not see them as the people they are. At the same time, I always see myself through smeared scratched dirty lenses. I see all the ways I am lacking and will never be worthy of these pedestal people.  Why can't he love me? What is wrong with me? I am just that unattractive. I am too honest and raw. I am rough around the edges. I am not godly enough. I am not smart enough. I am not strong enough.  I find myself just thankful to hold any value in others' eyes, that I slowly lose all sense of the worth I once may have held.  Holding men on a pedestal hurts me and is unfair to them. They did not ask to be

The Marriage of Mr. & Mrs. Jordan August 25, 2004 - July 15, 2019 On July 15, 2019, the Jordan marriage, one that brought forth three amazing children, died at the age of almost 15 years.  The relationship was born in July 2003. After a short period of dating the Jordans (then Buchanan and Jordan) progressed to an engagement. The engagement lasted one year to the day when vows were said in front of a very small group. Just three and a half months after the wedding day, the Jordans welcomed their first daughter Abbie. The marriage had many bumps, as many marriages tend to have in general. Having been a young marriage, the marriage seemed pretty stable overall thanks be to God. The Jordans welcomed their second daughter Eb almost seven years into the marriage and then two years later welcomed their third and final daughter, Charlie.  The Jordans loved watching BBC shows together. They enjoyed cooking and entertaining friends and family. They loved using humor to make it throug

Going through a divorce is a painful experience in itself. There are also hidden barbs that prick and tear open your heart. They are things that a person would not consider to be something that would cause pain. Strung together they make an emotional barbwire.  One barb that tends to get me is pronouns. After being married for my entire adult life, I tend to use the term "we" instead of "I". I am so used to being part of a unit that my pronouns automatically became plural... and now that I am no longer part of a couple, I struggle to remember the correct pronoun. Each time it catches me off guard, I freeze, correct myself, then the barb catches. This is especially the case in the context of speaking about my girls.  My daughter, Elizabeth, was supposed to have an eye appointment this week. It would give information on what "we" should do to help her vision. The "we" caught me off guard. I have been separated since October, and yet I still str

The next two weeks are going to be especially painful for me. I am preparing my heart ahead and have been forcing myself to dig into scripture. I say forcing myself because the last few years I have been so thirsty for the word so much so that reading and praying were easy. With these trials, though, I have found myself pushing away from God. Reading Gods word and praying bring pain to my flesh and heart because I am angry with God. So I am forcing myself to do what is right and obey, even if my flesh cries out.  One year ago today, I was driving to Colorado with my girls. It was stressful and overwhelming but I was excited to enter a new chapter of my life. I could feel my heart break as we got further and further from my friends and family.  One year ago today, the thought of my hubby brought a smile to my face instead of tears to my eyes. Even after 14 years my heart still fluttered. He was my best friend and my love. I felt like what we had was unbreakable, but I was blissfully

There are so many times that I wish I could just get a moment of peace and quiet. Mom....mom...moooommmmm..... There are times when I can not even hear my inner dialogue over the sound of two siblings bickering, a teenager blaring her music, the sound of the dog barking at the invisible threat. Mom....mom...moooommmmm..... The sound of the chips being spilled all over the kitchen floor and then the horrible sound of them being stepped on by little feet instead of being picked up. Mom....mom...moooommmmm..... There are days when I literally hide in my car to just have the moment of peace and quiet. There are days when all I want is quiet.  Then there are days like today. Days when my babies are at their father's house and it feels like a part of me has gone with them. It feels as if I took a deep breath when they walked out the door and I will not be able to breathe again until they return. Today I have the quiet... but I still do not have the peace. The quiet is eerie and encompa

I let myself cry last night. I hate crying. When I cry I feel weak and embarrassed. I feel as if I am not holding it together. I feel broken. I especially hate crying in front of my children. I don't want to break their spirits or concern them. I don't want them to see mommy out of control. When I cry in front of them I feel as if I am failing to show them God's light, love, and hope. I tell them all the time that it is ok to cry. I tell them that it is ok to feel overwhelmed. I tell them that I love them and I pray with them, but when it comes to myself I act differently. If the person in this situation was a friend of mine or just a stranger, I would love them and support them. I don't allow myself the same grace.  Let me give you a little background on what lead to this crash and burn. Our van is in the shop until next week. My loving parents are going to cover the cost; it is a huge blessing but I feel an overwhelming amount of guilt. I feel unworthy of them

Have you ever had times when you were so overcome with the woes of the world and life that you came before God's throne only to struggle with focus? Do your struggles keep interrupting your time with God? Even as I write this, I find myself  distracted and drawn to other situations and problems that seem to need my attention, but they really don't. Not everything, actually most things, are not as emergent as we tend to think or feel. We get wrapped up in the now. I have to get the van fixed now! I have to clean the house now! I have to deal with this situation now! What would really happen if we stepped back and even for an hour said, "OK God, I don't know what to do. I a, so tired, so frustrated, so done with this. God show me what to do. Help me to focus on you."  Would the world fall apart? Would all come to a crashing halt?  Or would you find yourself more in alignment with God's will and His peace? We live in a "now " world. We can o

Hello Friends, It feels like it has been forever. I have missed writing so much but haven't felt like I could. I haven't felt like I have had enough to say. Have you ever felt like you weren't enough? Is your life enough? Are your relationships enough? Is your job enough? What is enough? Merriam Webster defines enough as "occurring in such quantity, quality, or scope as to fully meet demands, needs, or expectations. I would define enough as the unobtainable bar that continues to only move further from me. It is the state of living a life full of regret, guilt, and sadness. In my life there are several areas where I would consider I am falling behind in the enough category. Here are just a few: I am not smart enough I am not strong enough I am not fit enough I am not brave enough I am not good enough as a wife I am not good enough as a mother I do not have enough financial stability I do not have enough faith Where are you falling short in the enoug

In the past I thought being a good Christian meant wearing a mask. Projecting an image of happiness and wholeness to all those around me. I thought the mask would help others to see Jesus through me. It would keep my brokenness from becoming a distraction to others. I would wear this mask that I created and when the mask would slip, I would become overcome with guilt for failing as a Christian. Through the last several years, I have found that sometimes people can see God most shining through the cracks of my brokenness. I was doing God no favors by being artificial. God wanted to use my brokenness. He wanted to heal my brokenness. He wanted to love me in my brokenness. As a society we have things that are stigmatized. Things that go unspoken for fear of rejection and judgement. Sadly, this is not much more different in our Christian walk.There are some subjects that are uncomfortable and can make us feel vulnerable. Top Three Things Christians Hide: (Some of these overlap) 1.