“Okay, Mom, my room is done,” my young son told me after he’d spent an hour or two cleaning it.
Tag: Julianne Nornberg
Advent is a time of cultivating tenderness toward God
Nearly 17 years ago, my heart was changed forever.
Taking time to ask for grace we need
Thousands of thoughts get the best of me sometimes.
Praying for grace to overcome fear with love
Recently, when my family tent camped atop foothills in the Rocky Mountains, we bedded down after having stored our food in the bear locker for the night.
Discovering beauty of God’s plan when the mist clears
It was the perfect time to take our four children to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Ranging in ages from 10 to 16, they were at just the right ages for remembering such a trip.
Finding balance between heaven and earth
Like any mother, I love to hear my family laugh.
Learning to embrace our crosses
“Ohhh,” my teenage son groaned as he clambered like an old man into the car at the end of the school day. “I’m SO tired!”
Importance of hospitality, community especially today
Just before the New Year, our house looked similar to many other homes.
Christmas lights decorated the tree in our living room. Children were busy with new toys and games. Cookies and other goodies often made their way into little searching hands and mouths.
A matter of perspective: Passing on faith through subtleties of our actions
In a classroom recently, I told the following true story to a few young children.
“A long time ago, my husband and I were roasting marshmallows over a campfire with some friends,” I said, my eyes wide as I told the story.
“Our friend’s marshmallow caught on fire, and instead of blowing it out, he waved his stick back and forth quickly, trying to put the fire out,” I said, waving my hands dramatically to illustrate our friend’s actions. “But the burning marshmallow flew off the stick and landed as a mound of flaming goo onto my husband’s leg!”
Cleaning out our spiritual junk rooms
“So, what’s in this room?” a friend asked once, when she was visiting us long ago.
She opened the door to our very cluttered “junk room,” saw the teetering piles of mail, unfinished projects, and general chaos, and laughed.