I saw this past week that it has been three years since our world went on lockdown due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Three years! Can you believe it? I can still hear all the advice we were given. “ Stay at home!” “Avoid contact!” “Shelter in place!” “ Wear a mask and gloves!” “Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize!” Life as we knew it was forever altered. Emotions ran high as we scrambled to figure out what it all meant. To be honest, I would rather not think about it much. The pa

One wall of my high school Spanish classroom is covered in student work. It is currently entitled, “El Amor y El Miedo," which translates to “ Love and Fear .” Most of my walls have helpful vocabulary, cultural decorations, or school news, information that is there for the students but not new to me. This wall, however, keeps grabbing my attention. I stand in front of it as if I’m in a museum, soaking it in. To me, it’s an emotional tug to my person but also a nudge to my aca

I know, I know. Our last blog focused on protecting your heart, and now I’m telling you to open your heart. I promise I haven’t lost it! I figured since we were still in February, we should keep this heart theme going a little longer. After all, the Bible says everything flows from our hearts ( Proverbs 4:23 ), so it is probably worth a deeper dive. The previous blog addressed three ways to protect our hearts: (1) be intentional about what we meditate on; (2) control and

How is your heart doing these days? Do you even think about it? Do you realize your heart needs to be protected and guarded? I recognize these questions are direct and not easy to answer. I’ve been asking them of myself, too. I was ready to write a blog this week about something “lovey” since it is February! In schools, we are inundated with candy hearts, chocolate kisses, and Valentine’s Day cards. Love is in the air much to the chagrin of educators who have to navigate all

A couple of weeks ago the weather here in Texas was unseasonably warm. The wind was mild, and the sun was shining. It was perfect conditions for some afternoon tennis! Our favorite courts happen to be right next to an elementary school. Since we play in the latter part of the day, we never see students. However, this day was different. For some reason, a group of about ten students was hanging out on one of the courts. They were just messing around being kids. Boys and gi

Does God ever “Wow!” you? Does He ever send you a message that makes you pause and say, “OK. I’m listening, God!” I was reading in Judges this past week, and I stumbled upon these verses. See if you can identify the words or phrases that stopped me in my tracks. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said , “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!” Judges 6:12 Then the Lord turned to him and said , “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am se

The past few months have been pretty special for me. My oldest daughter and her family have been within 30 minutes of us as they prepare to transition to a new season in their lives. I have thoroughly cherished every moment with my two granddaughters reading books, constructing puzzles, riding scooters, going on walks, and having deep conversations (as deep as you can with a four and seven-year-old). I was recently reminded of one particular conversation I had with our oldes