Today is Memorial Day. I want to start by saying thank you to all of the people who have served our country, to their families who have sacrificed so much, and to everyone who has lost someone who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. The words “thank you” feel inadequate to express sincere gratitude …
Author: theunexpectedeverafters
6 Month Blogiversary
Hello readers, This week marks our 6 month blogiversary! We are excited about this milestone! We have really enjoyed connecting with so many of you and are thankful that you’ve joined us on our writing journey. We’d like to take this opportunity to turn the tables and invite you to contribute a story, reflection, or …
The Comparison Trap
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about comparison and the overwhelming emotions that often accompany the comparison trap. I’ve reflected on how I compare my life with the lives of others, as well as how I compare what I think my life should look like to what my life actually looks like. As this season …
Cheers to All Sides of Parenting
As we celebrated moms yesterday, and anticipate celebrating dads next month, I reflected on my own journey of parenting and how my expectations and anticipations have been thrown off course. There is a lot to love about being a parent, and a lot of awesomeness that comes from kids. However, there are sides to parenting …
Social Distancing: I’m FINE
How are you doing with all of this social distancing? I imagine if I were to ask a random selection of people, the most frequent answer would be, “I’m fine.” Honest answer from me? I saw a meme (created from a comic by KC Green) of a dog sipping a cup of coffee while everything …
Theological Musings
Sometimes when I observe my kids, I wonder if God ever muses over us in a similar manner as parents watching their children. For example, kids can be incredibly trusting even in the most precarious situations. My daughter is quite daring and fearless. Last summer at the playground, she wanted to follow her brother onto …
Finding Self-Compassion Through Truth
I recently read Brene Brown’s book, The Gifts of Imperfection, where she wrote about the ten guideposts to whole-hearted living. As I was reading, I found myself relating to many of her approaches. I was particularly drawn to her discussion on vulnerability and shame. Her writing provided helpful language I now use when I talk …
“Both.”
My son has a funny habit of replying with vague and unconventional answers when responding to various questions. For example, when asked to choose between two options, with hardly a second’s pause to deliberate, he’ll immediately answer, “Both.” Or, when asked about a particular experience, he’ll respond, “It was a little bit good and a …
The Never Expected “Unexpected”
In the introduction to our blog, Wendi and I wrote, “While we continue to celebrate with each other all of the amazing things that happen in our lives, we have found that the times when we most need our friendships is during the unexpected detours that are inevitable in life.” When we wrote these words, …
Five Minutes at a Time
As we continue to navigate the abnormal season accompanying COVID-19, I have been trying to keep in mind that we all process the daily life changes and news updates in very different ways. Our unique reactions are understandable given the rapidly changing nature of the current situation and our differences in temperaments, perspectives, and circumstances. …
