Every night, we gather our two children on the couch, read a Bible story, sing some songs, and then say a prayer together. But before the prayer, each kid gets a chance to say something he or she is thankful for from that day to include in the prayer. This works two-fold. It helps them remember good things from the day. And it reminds them that everything good comes from God.
Well, as you can imagine, with a six- and four-year-old, the answers can be varied and/or monotonous some weeks.

Forty years ago, on March 27th, my parents were married.

Forty years.

In this day and age, that's practically an eternity. But it's also a goal. Forty and more. Because I've had the example of their love and marriage my whole life, as well as the marriages of my grandparents (more than 66 years in one and more than 50 in another), and the marriage of my in-laws, who would've hit 40 years if she'd lived that long. I want a love like that.

My brother one time commented on his adult furniture. This sounds funny, but if you think about it, don't we sort of judge where we are in life by where we got our furniture?
My husband and I had never bought a new piece of furniture that we didn't have to put together ourselves. Everything else we owned was a gift, a hand-me-down, or second hand. And while there's nothing wrong with that (I love that my kids are sleeping on the twin beds my dad had when he was young), you get to a point in your life when you'd rather your furniture actually be what you want instead of what you settle for.

Can we be brutally honest for a minute? Seriously. Have you noticed that all the romantic things are aimed at women?
Okay, okay. I get it. Women WANT romance. But you know what? Guys need to be treated special, too.
No. They probably don't want jewelry or flowers or sappy romcoms. But that doesn't mean they need to be left out, either.
I've noticed this trend in our world where it's like everyone expects women to be treated better than men. And I, for one, hate it.
​So, what to do about it?

If you're like me, you take a handful of vitamins and other supplements every day. After all, unless we're willing to actually eat like we're supposed to, we're probably going to be lacking in this or that important element. So, we go down the shelf and grab one of each to make sure we're getting enough. Especially during cold and flu season ... and, dare I say, COVID?
Well, the other night during a Bible lesson we were listening to on YouTube (I will be SO glad when we can be back in person), this verse caught my attention.

On my wall, I have a shadow box filled with knickknacks and breakables. Quite a few of the pieces are connected to memories because they were bought as a gift for a certain occasion. Others are just things I liked. A few more were gifts from friends and loved ones.
Here's the deal. My four-year-old jumps ALL THE TIME right now. And our house shakes with every single leap he makes. Which rattles the walls. This scoots things out toward the edge.
So, every so often, my husband or I reach up and push a piece back to keep it from falling and getting hurt.