Hello and Welcome to the new home of The Toothless Grin! Please subscribe for all future posts on the right. —>>> Here I hope you will find the same ol’ me in a bit more polished, personal format. Until I get everything transferred, take some time to look around. Check out my bio, my sermons, […]
I Don’t Believe in Lent
My friends showed up to volleyball practice with crosses of ash smeared on their foreheads. I looked on with incredulity at the morbid (to me) signs on their forehead as they lamented that it was the beginning of Lent when they couldn’t eat chocolate or candy. The entire purpose of this season to them was […]
How these Superbowl Ads are Going Agains...
The Superbowl commercials have been celebrated for decades. We watch with great expectations. To laugh. To cry. To groan. To cheer. Mini-movies which make us laugh, cry, groan, cheer, fall in love, and of course, want what they’re selling. And yet, my friends, for years I avoided the commercial breaks. The message many of the […]
How I am rising above shame (and the win...
The past week was full. Full of tears, grief, sorrow, and pain. Full of joy, laughter, hope, and excitement. Full of new people, new friends. Abundant. Overflowing. At times I was overwhelmed, felt behind, wanted to crawl in a hole to sleep, because it was almost too much for this girl who gets over-stimulated. And […]
I am Reclaiming Date Night
Before children we were so good. On Tuesday nights we would get dinner, sharing an entree, going to the cheap theatre, being together. We took walks in the moonlight. We held hands. We chatted. We were together. Then Jack was born. We went on our first date as parents when he was 6 weeks old […]
The 3 Parts of a New Year’s Resolution t
Mountains of laundry. Piles of dust. Lumps of toys. Jumbles of books. No matter how you put it, my house is a mess. Going into the New Year I am tempted to make a New Year’s Resolution I can’t keep, like: Clean Up EVERY DAY. Or: Be Organized. Or: Follow a Strict Cleaning Schedule. But […]
How this Perfectionist is Picking Hersel...
I am a perfectionist. A perfectionist who doesn’t want to do anything wrong, fears others showing me my failures, and who is constantly aware of what I could do better. I am tempted to define myself by my behavior, my finished to do list, or my perfect children who eat, sleep, and produce according to […]
“To Be Perfectly Honest” a Book Review
A couple of years ago I got really excited when I realized I could get books for free if I wrote reviews of them on my blog. Well, I read two books and had a baby and never wrote the reviews. So, to fulfill my original promise, here’s one. The title and premise of Phil […]
How God Cared for Me
Day 20 of 31 Days of Connecting The other day, in a fit of exhaustion, I posted a link to my sermon on trusting God. I promised that part of my story (which starts here) is part of the sermon… and it is. But since I know most people do not have 30+minutes to listen to […]
And the winner is…
In the past week 60 people have responded to my survey. This is beyond my silent, private goal of 50 and I am so grateful! Thank you to everyone who responded to the survey, shared the survey on Facebook, and have offered encouraging words to me about writing a book. Stepping out as a writer […]