michelle joy waters

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Feb 18
2 min

Stranger Things have happened on Ash Wednesday

Yesterday wasn't the strangest Ash Wednesday, but it was certainly up there. Twenty-five years ago—Ash Wednesday 1996—Eric got down on on...

Michelle Joy Waters

Dec 4, 2020
1 min

Women's One Day 2021

What a game changer of a year it's been! Join us for our Women's One Day Retreat: Game Changer: "See, I am doing something new!" We'll fo...

Michelle Joy Waters

Nov 30, 2020
2 min

We Do Not Lose Heart

One of my children's all time favorite VBS songs is "We Do Not Lose Heart!" based on 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. The littlest ones always aske...

Michelle Joy Waters

Oct 29, 2020
1 min

Quiet On the Blog Front

If 2020 has been anything, it's been loud. Too many words, too many opinions, too much noise... It's all been too much. So I've been quie...

Michelle Joy Waters

Jul 31, 2020
1 min

On a lighter note...

I got to take most of the kids to visit our new dog today. We'll pick him up Monday. The big challenge is going to be agreeing on a name....

Michelle Joy Waters

Jul 24, 2020
2 min

Getting Unstuck

I know, I get it. It doesn't seem right—especially now—to complain about getting off track because of vacation. Seriously, I get it. Most...

Michelle Joy Waters

Jun 12, 2020
1 min

The Blessing of Ordinary Moments

At the beginning of the lockdown, I started a list of all the small, daily blessings this new world order was bestowing on our family. I'...

Michelle Joy Waters

May 22, 2020
2 min

Now What?

Here we are. Not much has changed. School ended without any fanfare. We held our breath, waiting for the end of "Zoom Gloom," monitoring ...

Michelle Joy Waters

May 8, 2020
2 min

Little Altars at Home

Happy Mother's Day! The greatest gift this year will be heading back to church on Sunday after seven weeks at home. (Just so you know, I ...

Michelle Joy Waters

Apr 24, 2020
2 min

When you waver, find some wins

Sometime last week, most of us got the news that our little people wouldn't be going back to school. We all knew this was inevitable, but...

Michelle Joy Waters

Apr 17, 2020
1 min

What's that to you?

There are two sides to this Corona coin: the simple slowdown most of our lives desperately needed on the one hand, and the fear, anxiety,...

Michelle Joy Waters

Apr 10, 2020
2 min

Be a Finisher

We've come to the end of Lent. And one day we'll come to the end of quarantine too. Ending well is important in any endeavor. Maybe even ...

Michelle Joy Waters

Apr 3, 2020
2 min

Make Every Day Count

The days run together in this thing called quarantine. For the first time, what we have in abundance is time. Hour upon hour of time. It w...

Michelle Joy Waters

Mar 27, 2020
1 min

Family First, School Second

More than ever, friends have been asking, "Why did you home school for so long? It's so hard!" There's a long answer to that, and it's no...

Give Yourself Grace for "School at Home"

Michelle Joy Waters

Mar 20, 2020
2 min

Give Yourself Grace for "School at Home"

We've all seen the funny memes and posts of frantic parents thrust completely and unexpectedly into the world of school at home. Let me g...

Michelle Joy Waters

Mar 13, 2020
2 min

Are You Afraid You've Fallen Behind?

As meetings, practices, schools, and travel get cancelled one by one due to the pandemic known as the coronavirus, we find ourselves taki...

Michelle Joy Waters

Mar 6, 2020
1 min

We Have It Backwards

Lent is a time to subdue our physical nature in the hope that our oft forgotten spiritual nature will be brought to the surface, refined,...

Michelle Joy Waters

Feb 21, 2020
2 min

How to let go of Negative Thoughts

No one knows exactly how many thoughts we have each day, but it's more than you'd expect: experts say it's up there in the tens of thousa...

Michelle Joy Waters

Feb 14, 2020
1 min

It's Time to say Goodbye to my Bible

Sadly, the time has come. Truth be told, it's long overdue. My beloved Bible—the one that's been with me for the last twenty years—has fa...

Michelle Joy Waters

Feb 7, 2020
2 min

5 Things I Love about the Lord

He's my PEACE when there is no peace. Jeremiah was having a moment with the leaders of God's people. They were supposed to be lovingly ca...

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