I was unsettled at the beginning of the week, looking for comfort, peace and something to make me feel good as we began another week of level 4 lockdown. I turned to God again and again, while simultaneously turning to my own abilities, lists, plans, comfort food, coffee, and on and on.

In an extreme time, you’ve gotta pull out extreme silliness too. We didn’t plan it, but sometimes a level 4 lockdown just brings it out of you! We were all thankful for a good laugh this week when I bought Lifa a sandwich the size of his little brother, and Chris bet him good money to finish it by the end of the night. The highlight reel is on my Instagram profile, and I assure you it’s worth the watch. But here’s something to whet your appetite.

My man brought another powerful and vulnerable message at church yesterday. He sliced through the baggage of guilt and shame many of us carry around and offered a hopeful, healing alternative. This one comes from God’s Word and his very personal walk. Check it out here!

It's still raining! We're still in lockdown! We're getting creative - and using A LOT of exclamation points!!!

Day 1 of this rainy lockdown was verrrrrrry long. That night, I knew things were going to have to be different - for the good of the people. Life looks different right now, so we have to live it differently. We have much larger workloads than than we did during our first lockdown, and both kids have very different interests and needs. And also... RAIN.

My husband bared his greatest life struggle in his sermon on anxiety this Sunday. He was even more candid than I expected with the painful details of his battle and the toll it took on our marriage. The first 5 years of our 5 3/4 year marriage were the hardest of our lives. We were hard-pressed on every side, literally facing life and death.

President Cyril Ramaphosa held a "Family Meeting" for the nation of South Africa on Sunday night to address the rapid rise of COVID-19 cases. The anticipated 3rd wave has arrived, and the government was quick and wise in their response! ALL social gatherings, including church and church-related activities, was prohibited for a minimum of 14 days.

Yesterday, Chris bared his vulnerability before his church and the entire internet. He gave an account of his anxiety that was so real and so raw, it shocked me. And I was there for it all! I am so proud of my man, and his story is one worth sharing. If anything, it might let you know you’re not alone on your darkest night. WATCH THIS!

Covid cases are escalating wildly again in South Africa. Borders are closing. Boundaries are being drawn in every area of life.

I submitted our last set of documents to our immigration lawyer yesterday to apply for mine and our youngest's visas. Here's to hoping Home Affairs doesn't close again and borders won't stay closed too long! We'd hoped we were at the end of our 6-year stint without seeing family, but we will just wait and see.

I'm a food tracker. In many seasons over the last 7ish years, I have used an app called My Fitness Pal to track what I eat. It started in an extraordinarily hopeless season of life when I just needed a win. There was very little I had control over at that time, but I could control my caloric intake. I set a calorie goal, and it became a game - a way to win every single day. An unexpected journey toward health began from that desperate game as I started losing weight and feeling better. VERY slowly, I started making intentional changes and realized that I was capable of so much more than winning a game of numbers and food portions. I could re-wire myself - mentally, physically and emotionally.

A story about the story: I wrote this article last week for Help Club for Moms, which is why it sounds a little more generic (appropriate?) than most of my other personal stories. BUT I wanted to share it with you here and tell you this one frenzied moment I begin with - and the way God met me in it - has intrinsically changed me. Forever. I think I said the same thing to Chris every night when we got into bed last week: “I’m becoming different from that one moment. I think God is doing something in me.” Isn’t He good? So, as you read today, I want you to take heart that God can change everything about you in the moments when you don’t even like you.

was learning that He created and commanded order from the very beginning. Check out Genesis 1 and 2. Literally, the very beginning. This week, I poured deep into the Biblical narrative of God’s created order. I spent 3 evenings teaching moms about it and felt like I was just scratching the surface.

I'm an (excessive) planner. Every moment, even every meal is pre-determined. They rarely happen exactly as I planned, but I plan for that too. I have to admit... this week has had even more unexpected twists than I planned for!

Tuesday night’s presidential address threw a spanner in the works! On top of 3 Help Club teachings this week, we’ve been busy re-configuring Sunday mornings and all the other days in between. It’s honestly thrilling to lean into where God is and let Him be God. We’re just the vessels, and it looks like we’re going to be spending a lot of time online!

Last night after Benjamin was asleep, I was preparing the teaching I was going to do for Help Club. I popped my head into Chris’ office and found him deep in thought, scribbling notes and sending messages at the same time. He was watching President Ramaphosa’s “Family Meeting” speech regarding the 3rd wave of COVID-19 in Africa. The president was wisely saying, “The massive surge in new infections means that we must once again tighten restrictions on the movement of persons and gatherings.”

God started his salvation plan even before Jesus even set foot on earth. This week, Chris told the story of Abraham, and how it was the beginning of God’s great love story. He said, “Count the stars, Abraham. You will have more descendants than this.” No part of Abraham’s life was pointing to God’s promise. In fact, it seemed like it was too late. But God.

He is. And He always will be. All you have to do is choose to believe. He does the rest. Isn’t that GREAT news!?!

My life's direction has pivoted more than once while knee-deep in hurricane floodwaters. I have fervently prayed for more water as Cape Town faced "day zero", when we would run completely dry during a record-breaking drought. We need water to live - not too much, not too little.

One of my favorite parts of the week is called Southpoint Prays, when I livestream from Southpoint Church’s Facebook account. It’s a safe, encouraging space for the church to rally in the teaching Chris shares, take it a step further in practical application, and pray together. It’s been amazing to watch the church rally for prayer and find a sense of belonging virtually.

Chris Ladd is the man of my dreams, BUT he's got a few things to learn about life. Ok, its' just one thing: BIRTHDAYS.

I love to celebrate and have infused that love into my children. Lifa is an absolute boss at celebration, and one of Benjamin's first words was "Hooray!" (Future daughters-in-law, you are welcome.)

With the very deepest, greatest, furthest, widest kind of love, Chris stood on stage on Sunday and said, “We are all doomed!” He preached a powerful message with a hard to grasp truth. We have to realize we’re lost to be found. The GOOD news is that when we realized we are doomed without Jesus, His restoring loving, power and His fullness rushes over us like a tidal wave and changes everything.