Author: elrenaevans

Beware of little expenses. Small leaks will sink great ships. Like too many people I know, the concept of “Sabbath” is difficult for me. Perhaps I’ve sold out to the belief that my inherent worth is directly related to what I can achieve…or perhaps I’m …

This is the baritone played in fourth grade band by the kid who got kicked out of kindergarten. This is the Book Club selection read by the kid who got kicked out of kindergarten. These are the Math Club cards owned by the kid who …

Stripped of a fundamental understanding of who (or whose) we are, living in a world where “Everything is possible, and nothing is prohibited,” our accomplishments fail to bring us any meaningful satisfaction or fulfillment. We never feel as if we are “good enough,” we never …

Give them grace, when they hurt each other, to recognize and acknowledge their fault, and to seek each other’s forgiveness and yours. Give us grace, Lord, to do what seems impossible. If this beautiful language was written as a goal on an IEP, I would …

Perhaps because I’m a dancer and have spent much of my life on the stage, the leap to cosplay doesn’t seem too great a jump. When my eldest daughter, then twelve, began begging me to take her to BronyCon a few years ago, I spent …

Sometimes I think God was communicating everything I needed to know about my son right there in the delivery room. I don’t often ascribe these types of messages to the Divine—that’s not how I’ve ever experienced my faith—but if that was how I experience my faith, I …

I see how these amazing women and men are in there, day in and day out, giving their all—not only for my kids, but for entire classrooms. And I know (firsthand!) how some of those kids can try their patience ceaselessly and probably make them wish …

“I had such a lovely time with your children,” my friend said. “Truly lovely. We had a wonderful conversation over dinner.” This surprised me. Some of my children have special needs, and all of my children are pretty quirky. Being good dinner conversationalists isn’t something I usually …

My daughter’s eyes are wide as she enters the sanctuary. This place, so familiar to her, is incongruent at night in its somber hush. With the exception of a tiny baby wrapped securely on his mother’s back in a sling, she is the youngest person …

Too often, I forget to praise. Surrounded by the scarred remains of what once was Eden, praise seems almost out of place—something frivolous, superfluous. Shouldn’t I be doing more serious things with my time? And yet. The God who calls me to repent and lament …

God, we are weary. We have traveled for many miles, and we still aren’t home. Your timing is not our timing, Lord; and so often, we wonder where you are.   Read more at Evangelicals for Social Action

If my son had been there, in Bethlehem, on the night Jesus was born, he absolutely would have brought a drum to play for the baby. He would have banged on it with all his heart, an earnest little misfit bringing the best gift he …

“How was the concert?” I asked my two eldest children as they trooped through the door in the wee hours of the morning. “I loved it!” my 14-year-old enthused. “And now I need to make $40 a month, because I signed up to sponsor a little boy …