Today was a little heavy in the Ladd house.

Benjamin turns TWO tomorrow, and family feels extra far to me on the special days. Chris was weighed down with the unavoidable admin (and admin hiccups) that come with living overseas. We are calling it a night and just going to bed. Tomorrow is a new day, and we're having cake for breakfast!

We were born to hope. To believe in something, to seek something, to continuously become… If we get our eyes stuck on what’s in front of us, our heart set on what it within reach, we are missing something… Someone eternal.

This week, I was CRAZY tired. I planned my entire weekend around taking a nap while Benjamin slept. Guess what… COULDN’T SLEEP. While the rest of the house was super peaceful and resting, I was busy cracking away at my keyboard.

This Easter story is THE Easter, but it’s told from a totally different perspective. Chris shared the story of Jesus on the cross from the perspective of two Pharisees on Easter Sunday, and it was SUCH a game-changer!In other news, he took a big step toward becoming the pastor he wants to be by preaching his message with no notes, no confidence monitor or any extra support systems for the first time. It was beautiful! What is one thing you can do to take you one step closer to becoming the person you want to be?

Today's call to worship is an excerpt from a famous sermon by S.M. Lockridge. Enjoy your day, and remember that Sunday's is a coming! 🙌

Two years ago, the Ladd family was at the bottom of our barrel, in our lowest of lows. (Except for Lifa. He’s consistently wonderful.) Chris and I KNEW God directed us to build His church. Not just any church - a church that could reach the nations. We did all the faith-filled things people do. We labored for three years with nothing but failure and rejection.

I love Wednesday mornings! Lifa’s school starts later, and he plays with Benjamin while Chris goes to the office and I tuck into our room for a Facebook live prayer session. The church, friends and family come together for a quick early morning boost of Scripture, encouragement, real talk and prayer. I shared very openly this week about our family’s lowest lows and what God did in them. Right before we started, I received a message telling me that a very sick baby we prayed for the previous week was recovering. Prayers and praises are pouring in. I can only imagine heaven’s celebration. Please join us on Southpoint Church’s Facebook page - wherever you are! Wednesday mornings at 8am (GMT+2).

The Ladd family got bamboozled with the stomach bug on Monday. I got it first, and Chris got it the worst. I picked Lifa up early from school and promptly declared the house a state of emergency. Chris didn’t even get out of bed until 6pm - right before Benjamin’s bedtime. Everyone is standing, eating and funcitonal today, but Benjamin has a serious deficit in his daddy love tank after a busy Sunday and sick Monday.

Chris taught on the story of Lazarus this week at church. Line by line, he went through Scripture and told a story I have read many times. I’ve even taught on it. But this time he told it with our story too. And the story of the people in the room. I know I tend to be a little biased to his good looks and charm, but I thought about his message all week. This was powerful truth.

The weekend approaches with promise. It's virtually impossible to begin a weekend, or any season of life, without expectation. We approach wedding days, due dates, holidays, mealtimes, and Saturday mornings alike with a picture of what it will be, a definition of what it should be, or a dream of what it could be.

The world seemed to get bigger and smaller at the same time when I moved to South Africa in 2010. Oceans made my family feel impossibly far. I felt like a foreigner wherever I was as I maneuvered languages, cuisines, time zones and currencies. While I learned to convert the horizontal expanse from miles into kilometers, something changed vertically.

Almost 2 years ago, I held a phone in one hand and a newborn in the other. I was desperately seeking encouragement from my exhausted, immobilized state. I found Help Club for Moms through a YouVersion Bible reading plan and filled my dry bones with the Scripture rich encouragement. Even then, while looking for a way to keep myself going, God impressed something bigger on my heart. I knew this was for South Africa too. It’s for the nations - a community of moms encouraging moms in the love of Christ - we all need it.

Easter marks our ultimate freedom: Jesus overcame the grave! I love to display a banner in my home every year during the Easter season, “He Is Risen!”.

This year I am battling fearfulness and worry even as I sit under that banner to write this message. I feel overwhelmed by my responsibilities with home, work and ministry. I worry I am stretched too thin to nurture my teenage and toddler sons.

Yesterday Chris taught the church about “the D-word”. Discipline. He hit all the topics that make people cringe in church: time and money. It was insightful, challenging, and a breath of fresh-air! This week’s message wasn’t about asking people to give the church - or anyone else - anything. It was explaining why Jesus spent so much time talking about time and money. He had some great points on the value of discipline. I think we all left with something to ponder.

🙌It's the Friday Call to Worship!🙌

Easter is approaching. Are you ready to rock and roll!?! 🎸

Jesus entered Jerusalem one Sunday with a king's welcome. People threw their coats on the ground for his colt to walk on and waved palm branches, proclaiming, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven!" (Luke 19:38)

Lifa’s got the first month of high school under his belt and is loving every second of it. He goes to an all-boys school that flourishes on unity, school pride, a sense of family, and pushes the bar in sports. It’s Lifa’s dream world! (And can we all agree he’s way too handsome to go to school with girls?)

We had the BEST Sunday this week! We have been leading church virtually since Chris became the lead pastor at Southpoint Church. Lockdown restrictions have lifted some, and we were finally able to meet in the building again! It was an incredible morning with a full house, vibrant energy, and a lot of personal stories about our marriage on stage! I got to host the service this week, and even Benjamin made his debut. Check out the service. It’s worth the time.

"This world is crazy! Do you see what's happening around us?" The Bible is filled with stories of the world being just as crazy (maybe more!) than today's world. In the Old Testament, God responded with mass destruction to wipe away the bad so there could be good again.

Then Jesus came.

My husband looked at my crossed eyes today during the inevitable afternoon slump and asked how I was. We had just squeezed in a meeting with our immigration lawyer before going our separate ways for the day again. I smiled and said, “I am so good!” I was still wearing a COVID screening sticker from the hospital where I’d just been to see Benjamin’s paediatrician after another night of high fevers. (He is fine!)

I had the BEST time this morning during our weekly Facebook live prayer event! Chris’ message to the church this week was on growing your faith through very practical teaching. So, we got down and dirty - and practical this week! Check out the video if you have time.

Here are some highlights!

The dinner table has always been the Ladd family's home base. Seven nights a week, the table is set and placemats are spread. We share our highs and lows, and linger when time allows to chat about the day.

I love to feed people - especially my people. I plan and prepare. I relish in serving creative, healthy meals. That’s why this announcement makes me feel like my own tectonic plates are shifting: We are Taking a Break From Dinner.