DelightStruck

Friends, I'm introducing a little something new to my Faith Friday series. Once a month, I'll be hosting a guest writer to share their faith journey, and let us meet them in the raw of everyday, in the joy, the heartache and the struggles. Today is Elaine Carr. She's a kindred spirit and such a light to so many. She also owns Macaroni Kid Indianapolis-Indy Loop In and Macaroni Kid Hamilton County . Grab a warm cup of coffee or tea, sit a bit and take in all Elaine has to share. She Has A Front Row Seat to All The Joy It was four weeks ago that I crept into my youngest daughter’s bedroom to check on her and kiss her, as she slept. She awoke for a minute and asked where I was going; I responded, “I’m going to Riley for the night with a couple friends from church.” She sat up for a moment and asked, “Oh, is Camrynne going to Heaven now?” I told her that yes, Camrynne will be going to Heaven very soon. A huge smile crept over her first-grade face, her eyes lit up, and she...

Did you know Louisa May Alcott didn't really want to write for girls? She had a lucrative pulp fiction career, when an editor on her publishing team pushed her to dabble. She begrudgingly agreed to write Little Women . She notes that she didn't know what to write, so she wrote about her sisters and herself. Meg is actually her sister Anna, Beth is her sister Lizzie, and Amy is based on her sister May. Louisa May based Jo on herself. Aren't you glad she dabbled? I fell in love with all the delightstruck of the March sisters and the tale of Little Women long ago. My mother loved it and introduced the beautiful piece of literature to my sisters and me. She read to us until we could read to ourselves. I could read it over and over again and never bore of its contents. I love the various movie adaptations just as much. Sometimes I think when we write what we know and let bits and pieces of the real authentic us shine through, it can't help but resonate with people. Of...

I've long loved the quiet pondering that the season of Lent encourages. As a child the giving something up was difficult, but there was a lesson in it. I loved putting my little girl change into the rice bowl cardboard box and turning it, heavy and full, in at the end of Lent. My love of Lent has grown to something of beauty in my adulthood, and with that in mind, here's three things I think every mama needs this Lent. Blessed Is She Food for thought. I love the daily devotionals that are tied to scripture readings. They're written by women just like you and me. Women who are willing to be real and raw. Best of all, they just arrive in your inbox daily. A quick read, or dive in more on the website with a click of a button. Quiet, Prayer and a Journal There is beauty in quiet and listening more than you talk. This Lent listen to the world around you - the birds chirping, the laughter of kids getting off the school bus, the chime of church bells, mowers starting...

I've been intrigued and immensely blessed by the feedback to our family's T1D (type 1 diabetes) story earlier this week. Even in the horrible that is our normal, God is good. One specific blessing I'll have to write about for you after Easter. Life with God is not immunity from difficulties but peace within difficulties.  - C.S. Lewis Until then, here's a few of the reader comments: No one in America should have to write this story. We will fight until insulin is for all, to all. #insulin4all She nails it-people. My lovely friend Delightstruck Jen shares a story that’s all too common: where you work and how much you make determines the quality of healthcare in your life. In the United States. IN 2019. Why have we blindly accepted that this is the America we must live in? Delightstruck Jen and her family deserve better. We all deserve better. #insulin4all Having an insulin manufacturer in our own backyard, I'm even more disgusted by the greed that...