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. […]
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! 🤯) 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 […]
An Interview with Kirsten (age 4)
What is something I say a lot?“That you say that I’m smart.” What makes me happy?Tickling you! It makes you laugh What makes me sad?Being disobedient. How tall am I?Bigger than me! Like THIS big (gestures with her hands.) I’m like that big too when I stand on the chair! What’s my favorite thing to […]
The Other Side of Mother’s Day
Sermon Transcript on May 13, 2018 Monroe Free Methodist Church Mother’s Day – a day that encapsulates the both-and of the Christian life, both joy and suffering, both celebration and mourning, both crucifixion and resurrection. Many churches have beautiful Mother’s Day services, passing out precious momentos and honoring all of the awesome mothers in the […]
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 […]
Kirsten Grace – Month 12
Kirsten! You are 1 year old today! Happy Birthday, Baby Girl! This year has gone by faster than any year I have ever experienced, feeling almost impossible that 12 months have passed since you came (rather reluctantly) into our arms. It was a long, hard labor (nearly 28 hours after my water was broken) and […]
Kirsten Grace – Month 12
Kirsten! You are 1 year old today! Happy Birthday, Baby Girl! This year has gone by faster than any year I have ever experienced, feeling almost impossible that 12 months have passed since you came (rather reluctantly) into our arms. It was a long, hard labor (nearly 28 hours after my water was broken) and […]
Kirsten Grace – Month 11
Dear Kirsten, Oh goodness, sweet girl, I missed your 10th month post completely. I saw it coming, I saw it fly right past me, and I consciously decided not to chase it down. It’s hard for your mom to let stuff go…to say “I need some margin in my life and I have none right now.” […]
Kirsten Grace – Month 9
My dear, sweet Kirsten Grace, Every time I walk into your room to get you from your crib, I am physically overwhelmed with love and cannot seem to utter any other greeting than an overly-exuberant, “Hi baby!” I know you are hardly a baby anymore. You are growing up before my eyes into a unique […]