Growing up, Christmas was magical for me on an almost fairytale level. As someone whose love language is giving and receiving gifts, having that bent really ratchets the holidays up a notch. But now that I’m all grown up, I know the secret of my wonderful childhood holidays, and her moniker begins and ends with […]
Author: Courtnie Lawrence
Bringing a sacrifice of praise
I love an interesting family bookshelf – a good mix of standing books and stacked books, paired with fun and funky treasures picked up here and there. My brother has traveled extensively, so my bookshelves feature knickknacks from places all around the world, along with baby pictures and wedding pictures and clay sculptures my husband […]
Musings on Jonah, Part Two: God’s provisions, the lovely and the not-so-lovely
[Continued from Musings on Jonah, Part One: Is it right for you to be angry?] Two things I love most from this passage: God is always teaching us and God is always providing for us. He is teaching Jonah here. He used the example of the plant that made Jonah so happy when it kept […]
Musings on Jonah, Part One:Â Is it right for you to be angry?
A few years back, I was embroiled in a vicious cycle of anger and hurt over the way my daughter had been treated. And a very dear friend said to me, “Courtnie, you and I are both angry about this. The difference is that you are ashamed of your anger, while I am proud of […]
On free returns and redemption
A couple weeks ago, I ordered my first pair of Doc Martens. A 90s teen to the core, I always adored Docs, but alas! I never owned a pair. And now, at age 44 with very flat feet, I find that I need some extra arch support. So I figured, why not cushion my aging […]
Lessons from a daisy
She won it in an art contest at school: a packet of daisy seeds. Disregarding the fact that her mother is an inadvertent plant killer, my daughter was determined to nurture these seeds into full growth. So she followed the directions on how to plant the seeds in a small cup, which she painted to […]
Under construction
My daughter’s room has been through nearly as many changes as she has over the years. From a darling ladybug/bee/butterfly nursery to a pink princess theme to a transitional stage where she began to despise pink and love mint green. It was then, when she was in seventh grade, that we repainted her walls a […]
A new song
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The music blared from the store’s speakers, determined to get us shoppers in the Christmas spirit. Kids whined and wailed from the prisons of their parents’ carts, determined to get the toys they wanted. My cart itself was determined to veer left, no matter how hard I […]
When it’s just not your season
Growing up in Virginia, I was always loathe to declare one season my favorite. After all, each season has a beauty all its own: winter houses Christmas, spring boasts color after the bleakness of winter, summer brings beach vacation, and fall – well, I am finally ready to conclude that fall is my very favorite. […]
The day I lost it at the DMV: when it’s all just too much
It was the day we had been waiting and preparing for: my daughter’s appointment with DMV to take the knowledge test for her Learner’s Permit. She had spent the last week of her summer vacation studying for it, and she was due to start school the following week. We had timed things perfectly so she […]
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