Accomplishing Milestones In Their Own Time As a baby in the NICU, it seemed to take our son forever to learn to eat. After seven weeks in the hospital, we were beyond anxious to bring him home. But the nurses simply smiled and said that he wasn’t ready. “He just isn’t strong enough yet.” And […]
Book Review A Habit Called Faith by Jen Pollock Michel When you think about it, there is much irony found in a bookworm who struggles to read the Scriptures. And yet, there have been countless seasons in life where my Bible reading could be described as inconsistent at best. 2020 wasn’t the first time I’d […]
Book Review The Moonlight School by Suzanne Woods Fisher About The Moonlight School: (From the publisher) Haunted by personal tragedy, Lucy Wilson arrives in Rowan County, Kentucky. It’s the spring of 1911 and she’s there to assist her cousin, Cora Wilson Stewart, superintendent of schools. A fish out of water, Lucy is appalled by the […]
When the wounds of this world sting like countless paper cuts against my heart, it’s easy for me to lean into “unforgiveness.” It’s easier for me to bring bitterness, rather than grace, to the table. It’s easy for me to forget that I have been forgiven all. “But they were wrong. They should apologize to […]
Some of the things often said to parents after a loss is, “Well, at least you know you can get pregnant” or “It’s okay, you can always have another baby.” I’m not even going to BEGIN to go into all the reasons why you should avoid saying the above statements to a bereaved family. But […]
Dear friend, I don’t know what you’re struggling with today. I don’t know what battles you’re fighting or what sort of weight you’re carrying. I don’t know what news you’ve received or what valleys you’re slogging through. This world feels heavy sometimes. You may be battle-weary and bloodied from the fight. But take hope, sweet […]
Book ReviewThings We Didn’t Say by Amy Lynn Green Things We Didn’t Say is an impressive debut novel. (I was completely taken aback to discover that it was Green’s first book! It reads like a well-seasoned author.) Full of heart, passion and a little bit of humour, this book is a thoughtful exploration of patriotism, […]
Merry Christmas from the Mannegrens! The Christmas video is something we look forward to every year. (And honestly, it almost didn’t happen this year.) Fortunately, we managed to scrape a little something together that reflects just how crazy and beautiful life has been for us this year. 2020 was a lot. But it also gave […]
The shepherds didn’t bring gold to the manger. They didn’t bring frankincense or myrrh or costly treasures. They didn’t bring a gift at all. They knelt before the Savior of the world with empty hands. Their skin still creased with dirt from the nearby fields. Their worn cloaks still smelling of the flock they so […]
Book Review The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus by Jaime Jo Wright This dual-timeline mystery was my third read by Jaime Jo Wright and, can I say, my absolute favourite of hers so far. The writing in this book is strong and follows two separate characters: Pippa, in the late 1920’s, and Chandler in the present […]
Growing up, I thought there was only one kind of Advent calendar — the chocolate kind. But with my own little ones, we’ve added on a few extra traditions for the days leading up to Christmas. (You can check out the Christmas tree ornaments we made here!) One of which is our Book Advent Calendar […]
Book Review The Powerful Purpose of Introverts: Why the World Needs You to Be You by Holley Gerth As a school-aged child, there was always one note guaranteed to show up on my school report card — “Liz needs to speak up more in class.” The fact that I’d lose participation points for being quiet […]