In case you missed it, UNBOUND is officially for sale and you can purchase it online at… Amazon Barnes and Noble Indiebound Walmart Books-A-Million Christianbook.com …or anywhere books are sold! And now I’m hosting a GIVEAWAY of five $25 Amazon gift cards to show my appreciation PLUS a free book to pay it forward! Here’s how you enter: Post a picture of yourself with #UNBOUND on Instagram and tag me @themomgene and then tag a friend …

Today is THE day! The countdown has finally come to an end and I cannot thank all of you enough for the support and AMAZING early reviews Unbound: Finding Freedom from Unrealistic Expectations has already received! This book is my heart. It is all that God has taught me about redefining my hopes for the life I lead as a wife and a mother and everything in between and I hope it will be a …

ISAIAH 44:22-23 I have swept away your offenses like a cloud,     your sins like the morning mist. Return to me,     for I have redeemed you.” 23 Sing for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done this;     shout aloud, you earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains,     you forests and all your trees, for the Lord has redeemed Jacob,     he displays his glory in Israel. When I think of conversion and that moment in which life pivots on the before and after, the imagery in Isaiah makes …

  There have been other dates, sure. But not date dates, not real outings where we make a dinner reservation at a place that does not have paper menus and we split a bottle of wine and talk above the glow of a real, non-electric candle. Instead, we have supplemented with a few hours out to a matinee while my mom played Sudoku quietly in the living room on her iPad and the kids napped. …

Metacognition. Thinking about thinking.  Alice in Wonderland was a pro at this. She was always asking why of herself and the rabbits and caterpillars passing by. Her mind was open to possibilities. If an ace of spades could walk and a cat could talk, then perhaps a girl named Alice could reason for herself. Thinking about your thinking leads to thinking about your bad habits and good habits and the oddities that make you, you. It …

It’s nearly impossible to focus this time of year when flowers are blooming and cool mornings give way to mellow afternoons. We are all ready to break from routines and shake of the stiffness of winter. But if your child has special needs, routines are important and getting that energy out if you have a physical disability brings its own challenges. And yet, they feel the need to move and the desire to embrace the …

He is still my boy. But he smiles, clearly aware that this is not the norm. He gives a half wave and I cry and run to him. My mom basically collapses theatrically with churchy sobs and fans herself. “But how?” I say. He shrugs. “No really?” I grab at his arm. He is SO tall. I have to look up to see in his eyes. “I don’t know. I just woke up this way.” …

Even if you haven’t heard of Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs,” you can feel it in your bones. In 1943, psychologist Abraham Maslow came up with this handy pyramid to explain when, why, and how we are motivated. Here’s how it goes: Way down at the bottom, at our most basic level, we have to have our physiological needs met. If you were a baby, innocent and helpless, these are the things you’d need first. Things …

“A Wrinkle in Time” could not come at a better time. Though this story is timeless, I see now more than ever the world beginning to note and celebrate differences in ways we have not before. Mrs. Whatsit is an old lady when we first see her. And then she is a centaur. And once she was a star. This is the magic. Sometimes the world will feel “dark and stormy” much like the beginning …

We all say we just want to keep our kids “happy, healthy, and safe” but if we’re honest, that’s not possible all at once and all of the time. I wrote for The Washington Post​ today on the endless trade-offs we makes as parents–the one “plus” we split into three semi-decent “status quos” in order to keep the balance. It is an endless game of give and take.