by Laurie Short | Dec 3, 2013 | baby, blended family, change, Christmas, Christmas carols, commercialism, Faith, family, Fully alive, God, holiday stress, homelessness, Jesus, miracle, Seeing, shopping, step parenting, stress, tuning in, Uncategorized
Ah the Holidays…. Time for food and fun and of course- family. This can raise all kinds of emotions depending on your family sketch. Personally, I’ve got two parents, two step parents, two brothers, two half sisters, one step sister, two sisters in law,...
by Laurie Short | Nov 25, 2013 | Ann Voskamp, Author, Blessing, cancer, Christmas, commercialism, Faith, family, Fully alive, Grace, One Thousand Gifts, recipe, step mom, step parenting, thankfulness, Thanksgiving, Uncategorized
Did anyone else notice that Christmas decorations went up the day after Halloween? I drove into a shopping center parking lot on November 1st, and the telephone poles had morphed into candy canes. And I felt a little sad. I love Christmas, but I’m worried that if...
by Laurie Short | Nov 11, 2013 | battle, cancer, facebook, Faith, family, fighting cancer, Fully alive, God, God's will, heroism, Jesus, Ovarian cancer, Perspective, Prayer, Uncategorized
Last week, I experienced a holy moment. I went to pray with my friend Kim who (barring a miracle) is living the last days of her life. Kim has been fighting Stage IV Ovarian Cancer, and after twenty four brutal rounds of chemotherapy, endless nights of vomiting and...
by Laurie Short | Oct 14, 2013 | Blessing, California, congress, congress hiatus, Dreams, Ellis Island, Faith, family, Fully alive, government, Grace, immigrant family, immigration, Parenting, Perspective, rags to riches, Serbian, step mom, step parenting, Stories, Uncategorized
This was a monumental week in my life as a step mom. My step son decided to do his immigration report on his great grandpa. On my side. It’s hard to describe the feelings of warmth when your step child claims your family as his own. It’s something you never expect....
by Laurie Short | Sep 18, 2013 | Author, Blessing, change, Charlie Brown, Faith, Fully alive, God, Grace, Listening, Perspective, Seeing, Tyranny of the Urgent, Uncategorized
**this blog was written four years ago and inspired the title of my new book. The book is now out, and here is the link: http://amzn.to/2wccPvf Have you ever felt like you were going through your days like Charlie Brown’s teacher? You know, the one you never get to...
by Laurie Short | Aug 18, 2013 | Author, Blessing, Compassion, Faith, Grace, Jesus, Ministry, Missions, Parenting, Prayer, Stories, Youth Worker
I just got back from a mission trip. Five families from our church took their vacation time, packed up their children, and went to Nicaragua for a week. As a former youth pastor, I have always known the value of exposing kids to a wider glimpse of the world. They come...