Unveiled Graces

How to Live Through a Storm As Irma continued to creep near, a weight bore through my soul.   From the current weather, no one would suspect a storm was brewing.   My twin sister resides on the bay in St. Petersburg.   While her family is safely nestled with my parents, most of their worldly goods lie vulnerable to the hurricane’s wrath.   A cyclone of such magnitude has not targeted the Tampa Bay area in almost one hundred years.   It seems that recently, our world has suffered an increasing number of life storms, whether they be meteorological or metaphorical.   We clean up from one disaster only to turn on the news to learn of another.   How do we find hope in the storm? This evening, God helped show me a glimmer of His grace. My church decided to act and make cleaning kits for those affected by Irma.   I gathered my children and we discussed how many kits to make as a family.   I told them that each kit had a shipping fee of $1.50.   My ten-year-old son lit up a

Things you cannot get away with as an adult (but you secretly want to do): Go trick-or-treating (without a child) Eat a Ring-Pop while on your finger or any other piece of candy jewelry for that matter Carry a stuffed animal around Jump in a bounce house Eat Bugles off your fingers like they are your nails Swing high on a swing set Twirl in a meadow and pretend you are Maria in the Sound of Music Jump is puddles when it’s raining Jump on a trampoline Say whatever comes to your mind Wear mismatched clothes because it’s fun Chase an ice cream truck Catch fireflies Scream at a scary movie Run when you must go to the restroom I would love for you to add your own in the comment section! ~CW

My daughter begged to ride her purple bike all day.  The day had been grueling from sunup.  Labor Day was exactly that, full of labor.  Yet, her pleas continued like the persistent widow in the New Testament.  I finally relinquished after dinner. As she fastened her lavender kitten helmet, she could barely contain her enthusiasm.  I rallied and gave myself a pep talk.  It was a beautiful evening. We had made it a grand total of 100 feet when my daughter started complaining.  She wanted to push her bike instead of ride it.  After a little coaching, she peddled up the street.  We made it three-quarters of the way around the block and she suddenly stops.   "Mom, I can't make it!" my daughter cries.   "Yes you can.  We are almost home."  I tell her. "No. I am finished."  She declares. "Kaitlyn, we haven't made it home yet.  You can't give up." At that point, she gets off the bike and sits down.  I would like to say that w