Welcome to the Mud Stories PRESHOW! Mud Stories is a podcast dedicated to bringing you inspiration in your muddiest moments, hope to make it through your mud, and encouragement for you to know, you are not alone. Join our gathering place: The Mud Stories Gathering,  a closed group on Facebook: (http://www.facebook.com/groups/mudstoriesgathering) This week, Kaitlyn Bouchillon is our […]
MS 082 Handling Comparison, Jealousy and Discontentment
Welcome to episode 082 of Mud Stories! Mud Stories is a podcast dedicated to bringing you inspiration in your muddiest moments, hope to make it through your mud, and encouragement for you to know, you are not alone. 1. Join our gathering place: The Mud Stories Gathering, a closed group on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/groups/mudstoriesgathering) This week we’re […]
MS 069 The Watkins Kids: Facing Mud and Giving Thanks
Welcome to episode 069 of Mud Stories! Mud Stories is a podcast dedicated to bringing you inspiration in your muddiest moments, hope to make it through your mud, and encouragement for you to know, you are not alone. In today’s episode I’m talking with my four Watkins kids, all about some mud they’re facing, the challenge […]
What I Learned {February 2014}
At the end of every month, Emily Freeman shares what she’s learned, and she hosts a link-up on her blog where everyone can meet and share what they’ve learned too. So today, I’m joining Emily, to share what I learned in February. And I’m looking forward to hearing what you learned too! 1. My online friend, Natalie Snapp, was on […]
Choosing to Give Thanks and Fighting for Joy
I so clearly remember how I wanted to be a mother. I watched new moms with their babies, and dreamed of holding a new baby of my own. Holding and bathing. Feeding and changing–a life of meeting my baby’s needs. And then, I became a mother. Four children in six years. Months and months of […]
The Nostalgia of Home
I traveled home a few weekends ago for the first time in a long time. And it’s always good to come home. And for me, it really IS home. It’s the same dirt lane, with the same field across the way where I stood and pitched countless balls to my dad in the twilight of […]
For When You Struggle with Comparison {Allume}
Comparison is a universal struggle it seems. And in my own life, I must admit, when I compare myself to others, it steals my joy and kills my hope… Of who I want to be. Of what I long to do. Of where I want to go. And how I will ever possibly get there. […]
Why Feelings Are NOT the Dictators of Our Reality {There is Hope}
There are times in life that are stormy and dark, when every heart feels beyond hope. Times when we’re overwhelmed by circumstances that startle and catch us off guard–circumstances that are right here, right now–dark and directly overhead. No anticipation. No warning. And we’re blinded by their presence and sideswiped by their consequences. A lost job. A […]
How to Slow Time {Mountain Moments to Remember}
There’s something about the serenity of the mountains to help slow the pace of life. Something about the pine smell and the bird sounds that induce relaxation. Something about how the afternoon sun shines its light on the leaves and shimmers its light onto dirt paths. And this past weekend we slowed time. We drove up the mountain […]
How a Small Act of Being Kind Can Change Everything
Sometimes a random act of kindness can change everything. I have to admit, this morning was rough. I sluggishly woke to the energetic banter of all four of them, and we were already late, as usual. I told them to get ready to go, and they nodded and scattered. And I counted on them to […]