Happy 2024, everyone! We are so honored that you’re a part of our lives, and would love to do some catch-up on the Eccles crew. It’s a joy to enter the year with the desire to have more of the same kind of living. As an Enneagram 7 I thrive on change, variety, and action. […]
The Kingdom of Heaven is like…
Glimpses of renewal are bits of the Kingdom of Heaven glimmering here and now. It’s just a matter of paying attention to what’s happening around you, in creation, in and between people. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus uses metaphor and parable to tell us what the Kingdom of heaven looks like. āThe kingdom of […]
what a difference 7 years makes.
Hello friends!At this very moment my ears are ringing with my daughters’ after-school mania, and yet I’m pausing for a moment of renewal reflections. (I wish you could hear how crazy it is in my house right now! š¤Æ) With a mission of joining Jesus in the renewal of all things I wanted to share […]
Committed to Lament
“To be AWAKE is to LAMENT that much is wrong with the world, but to be awake also means we are PRISONERS of HOPE.”* (Zechariah 9:12) As I wrote on Monroe Free Methodist‘s page this week,I know these small choices and declarations are just that: SMALL. But as a white woman, as a parent, as a […]
This is 11
It feels just right, like your favorite sweatshirt on a cool summer evening. It kind of feels like the type of work Jesus describes in Matthew 11, easy and light. It’s still work. There is still plenty of trouble to navigate, and it takes focus and intentionality to move forward together. But doing so with […]
Overflowing Joy
These past many months I have been marveling at the sweetness of God. I have experienced His presence, His nearness with me almost constantly in a way more intimate than before. Rather than only noticing God at work around me – in conversations or in nature – my spirit is simply aware of Spirit, comfortably […]
The Scent of Grandma’s House
Dear Gramma Mary, I will always remember that patch of irises or “root beer flowers” you had in the back corner of the house. Any time I see these beautiful purple blooms I think of you and the many memories we made in that big back yard – clean linens flapping on the line, birds […]
8 Years of Marriage
Today we celebrate the exchange of our wedding vows, the day we entered into the holy covenant of marriage. By the grace of God, our marriage has endured and is stronger and more lovely with each year. Ā And last night as we crawled into bed, we reminisced about our wedding day. It was a joyous […]
Kirsten Grace – Month 2
Dear Kirsten Grace, Sweet daughter of mine, I am so thankful God chose to give me a gift I could never deserve. Each day His goodness keepsĀ unfolding like a glorious flower, petal after petal, in the beauty of who you are. I pray I will never cease proclaiming His glory, never forget to live out […]
Cease Striving
My dearest friends, In the midst of the adoption, I was starting my 3rd round of Clomid post-surgery (first week of March). We were entering our 58th month of infertility, and Kevin and I made the decision to cease our focused efforts on conceiving. We looked each other in the eye and said, “We’re done.” […]