Last weekend, I used an entire bottle of baby laundry detergent in 24 hours and paid teenagers with Big Macs to help me move furniture as I prepared a nursery. The soft blankets, tiny socks, and all the sweet, itty-bitty things I lovingly put in place are for a fleeting moment. Our little one will never know the hours I spend preparing, praying, and reaching for him as he wiggles within me. Still, I bask in it.

This week I was tempted to count the "no's" in my forever-long prayer list, measure shortcomings, and surrender to the overwhelmedness of undone areas. No one would have passed a judgment if they knew what I was entertaining. In fact, a quick scroll through social media would have given the storm in my mind a big "Yes and Amen!"

Fight or Flight part 2 did not disappoint. A crowd favorite was when Chris gave a real-life example of his flight reflex and threw me and my allergies in front of a bee to save himself early in our marriage. Yes, I did get stung. Yes, I still remind him of that. Here’s more about the message… Enjoy!

I'm writing at 5am. I have been up since 2:30am with pregnancy insomnia. I've tried to stretch my sore body, pondered how to stretch our finances, and made lists of things to do. My early morning "bonus hours" were squandered with monotonous and vexing thoughts.

We had a GREAT Sunday at church! The room was packed, hearts were full, and yes… Chris still has a mullet.

It's my South African birthday! 🥳 I landed in South Africa for the first time on 14 January 2010... 12 years ago!

After five years of single-parenting, God gave me an incredible husband. Since we've moved from America, we've lost all of our grandparents without goodbyes. We've missed a generation of weddings, babies, and milestones - as well as pizza nights and Saturdays with our parents, siblings and cousins. We fused together a family in strange and lonely circumstances, and have since been impacted by mass injustice, corruption, brokenness and oppression.

How do you pray?

I don’t mean what do you say, but what is your posture? The Help Club for Moms hosted a 3-day prayer event this week, and I had an opportunity to share some raw and real truths about why I had not been praying triumphantly. I shared some of my story, including how unanswered prayers bruised my heart and hope. But God used even that. And taught me to pray from a place of triumph.

Several years ago, Chris and I each wrote our “Words to Live By”. We chose our own lists of God’s truths we wanted to speak over ourselves, family and future every morning. Science and scripture both prove that the direction of your thoughts determines the direction of your life, so why let whims or the world write our realities for us?

The holidays have come and gone. Predictability and knowing what day it is have gone out the window in the last weeks of school holidays. We're relishing late summer evenings and relaxed routines, while looking forward to the structure and new school stationery that makes it feel like the new year has really begun.

Our Creator designed our lifetimes on earth to be marked by seasons, sunrises, and trips around the sun. We all share this reality, whether you feel inspired by turning to a fresh calendar page, bound by seemingly timeless circumstances, or wounded and limping out of 2021. God made time to matter to us, every day and year purposed and imprinted with His relentless love for you. (Psalm 139:16, Psalm 90:12)

Merry Christmas Eve! I hope your Christmas Day is filled with joy, laughter and wonder. Many are feeling extra strain or pain this holiday season. That's ok too... because it's really not ALL about Christmas. There's more to our Savior than one miracle in a manger or a date in December.

The Omicron variant of Covid-19 is sweeping through South Africa - not very dangerous, but very contagious! Many are traveling and visiting family, so Chris made the call this week to have church online only to protect our volunteers and members. The goal is to keep everyone safe and healthy so we can enjoy Christmas together as a church and with our families!

The boys and I stayed home and watched “Daddy on TV”. Benjamin stood directly in front of the TV for part of it, screaming, “Daddy said Jesus! Daddy said Moses!”…

Spoiler Alert: THE WHOLE WORLD.

Insider Secret: One of the reasons Chris chose to do this sermon series was because of the epic turkey video that went along with it. (You can find it at 24:20.) But the OTHER reason he chose this series was because it’s an eye-opener that makes the Christmas story bigger, better and so much more than you might have thought. I think you’re going to love it.

The holidays are here! There are functions, finales, and gatherings galore. We play the songs, make the meals, and wrap the gifts. But what for?

There are many good reasons for the hustle and bustle, and celebratory traditions hold a special place in my heart. This year, God is whispering to me through the jingle-jangle, "Don't miss the miracle."

How many inspiring and life-giving sermons have you heard about death recently? We’ve got one! It really is! Death has touched us all, and no one is exempt from it. Part of death is sad news, part is bad news, but this week Chris shared on the good news about it too. He talked about what Jesus thinks about death and what He did about it. (Spoiler alert: defeated it once and for all!)

My toddler and teenager are both on hair-raising missions to establish their identities. My sons are drawing lines, testing boundaries, and discovering strengths, weaknesses, preferences and purpose within our family system. They are right on track developmentally! People in every stage of life are on that same plight of finding themselves. Feedback from relationships, success, social media, or past experiences often draw the boundary lines of who people are or the worth they believe they behold.

Chris is in the middle of a fascinating series of flipping the “bad words” in church upside down to expose them for what they really are when Jesus enters the picture: Good News! In this week’s message on judgment, he shares very good news on judgment. Can you imagine showing up for Judgment Day, and the only thing your Heavenly Father can see are the good things? Because of Jesus, the sin and not so good things were obliterated on the cross. God can’t even remember them! Jesus did not come to judge you. He came to rescue you! Enjoy this encouraging message.

I can’t believe I’ve been hosting Southpoint Prays online every week for almost a year! We’ve gone through highs and lows, lockdowns to varying degrees and a lot of life together as a church this year, and it’s been very powerful to have a weekly checkpoint. Every Thursday at 8pm, we gather live online on Facebook to remember Sunday’s teaching, get refueled by the Holy Spirit, and pray for what’s going on in our lives in realtime.

The festive season is upon us! For some, it stirs up awe and wonder. For others, it's a fresh wave of grief or painful memories. No matter what, this time of year can get extra full. Calendars, expectations and to-do lists are filling at rapid speed.

Thanksgiving is my FAVORITE holiday. I will be teaching a Bible study on gratitude this morning and trying not to dream of pumpkin pie while I do it. We will have a Thanksgiving celebration of our own on Saturday, and I can't wait!