Church was amazing this Sunday! We expected a quiet morning as rumors of a third wave of COVID rippled through the nation. I took my place next to Chris on the front row ten minutes after the service started. Several new families had poured in the door at the last minute, and I was helping them get their kids checked in. Chris leaned in to me when I joined him and asked, "Is it empty in here?" I whispered that I couldn't see any open seats.

Church was AWESOME!!! Chris talked about baptism, and I learned how to make a pickle! (Baptize that cucumber!) We are walking through some fundamentals of faith as the church expands, and God is unleashing so much. Check this one out!

I love weightlifting.🏋️‍♀️ We rent a weight set so I can exercise at home, and I train virtually twice a week with a personal trainer. I have gained surprising strength in the last year of training. It has NOTHING to do with my abilities and everything to do with consistently showing up and the calculated pushing of my trainer, David. The past few weeks have been full of extra meetings, deadlines and event planning. I had to cancel training sessions to make room for urgent needs.

Chris was on the trampoline with Benjamin. Benjamin was hurdling his body from one side of the net to the other, ricocheting like a wrestler in the ring. Chris kept his knees bent, lightly moving up and down so Benjamin could "jump" with his dad. I stood beside the trampoline scene with deep joy and great conviction. "I'm done," I told Chris while he half-bounced. He looked a little nervous.

We had a beautiful, wintery afternoon tea for moms at our church last week. A group of super-dads (and Lifa!) took on childcare of over 15 kids while 32 moms laughed, cried, played, indulged and prayed over each other. It was life-giving and absolutely gorgeous. I am blown away that God has built a team of strong, powerful women who love the Lord around me. They are my team any my closest friends. I am overwhelmed with gratitude!

Have you ever hoped so hard and so long that you ran out?

Have you ever been been so close to the miracle, or that one thing you needed, but just couldn’t get to it yourself?

I've gone to bed weary and heavy-laden most nights this week. We've had some loss and strain in our family recently that has made for restless nights. Exhaustion was building and rest was fleeting as I re-played my list of longings and re-prayed the cries of my heart, again and again, night after night.

When I ran out of words, I started listening to the song, "I Shall Not Want". I

I've found myself accidentally daydreaming about visiting the US lately. This morning I picked up Benjamin's US passport from the American embassy, and I'm sitting next to a stack of paperwork to apply for my new South African visa right now. It's all still surreal since the 7-year miracle. I haven't crossed an ocean since 2015.

Things got real at church on Mother’s Day! Moments before I walked on stage to talk to the mamas and pray for Chris’ message, he whispered, “Oh, I forgot to tell you. I’m reading your blog at the end of my sermon.” My response, “Oh wow - full disclosure… let’s do it!” The 7-Year Miracle blog was as real as it gets, but so is our church family. Chris’ message was impassioned, powerful, and we all cried through the end. Check it out here!

In Mark 2:1-5, the dramatic story of a paralyzed man lowered through a roof by his friends always stirs up questions in me. There was too big of a crowd to get to Jesus that day, so they just went through the roof.

I wonder how the man on the mat felt. He was fully exposed, could do nothing for himself, and the text never said anything about his faith.

Have you ever had a hope hurt so badly you couldn't pray for it anymore? Do you know the deafening silence that follows your "amen" night after night, year after year?

Take a journey with me through our last 7 years...

This week in Cape Town, Table Mountain, two historical memorials, an established university, homes and hopes literally went up in flames.A flame started by human hands ignited a force that ravaged God's handiwork.

Isn't it astounding how one quick action, word, or small decision can rewrite a city's landscape and many people's stories?

Chris Ladd and I could not be more opposite types of human. Some key differences are played out most obviously in the kitchen. When were dating, and our differences were intriguing and charming, we loved to try new recipes together after Lifa had gone to bed. In marriage, we view our differences as strengths to work together… and also the very things that make the hair on the back of our necks stand up. We now do zero cooking together. Sometimes we even take turns being in the kitchen! We consider it finding a way to win.

Chris has started a really cool sermon series called “Time Well Spent”.

Time: The one thing you can’t earn back, undo or get a bonus in. It’s worth being intentional about it. I engaged a little more with his sermon content on Facebook this week. If you have time, give this a listen!

Here’s an article I wrote for the Help Club for Moms. I love being challenged to write for this powerful ministry - I always learn something new when I press into God for others!

“True freedom never comes until we fully realize that we don’t need to struggle to get from man what God freely gives us: love, acceptance, approval, security, worth, and value.” Joyce Meyer

There is nothing more attractive to me than my man teaching the Word of God. 🔥🔥 This week, Chris went off of his own script and taught me something new. He was telling a story about Jesus showing up after his resurrection and inviting the disciples to stop working and come have breakfast with him. The unexpected twist was when Chris started talking about Peter and the burning coals.

Big leaps of faith inspire awe in the faith-leapers and those around them. Lofty sacrifice turn us to Jesus' words in Matthew 16:24, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."

Benjamin had the BEST birthday. He’s 2. He won’t remember it. (I took about 3,000 pictures that I will look at every 9th of April for the rest of time.) He doesn’t have to remember the events of his 2nd birthday. Birthdays build. They are our stories’ punctuation marks. You stop one year of life, and start the next. Each year builds on the previous one.

Chris was SO excited to try “a new thing” at church this week. Bringing a REAL Bible with PAGES on stage to preach from. Y’all… my man is so good. I’m not talking the biased kind of good that wives think about husbands (although he is that too). I’m talking about good at doing what God made him to do. I’ve got a beautiful spot in the passenger seat of this journey, watching my husband learn to lead, love and teach at a different caliber than he’s ever done.

I laid next to my 2-year old son last night and tried to read bedtime stories. (Happy 2nd birthday, Benjamin! 🎈) He interrupted every word I said, unable to withhold his enthusiasm. He chattered and grinned, while bobbing a dummy in his mouth like a cigar. I stopped and savoured the moment, completely consumed with love for him.