Sometime I forget. I forget that if it weren’t for this I wouldn’t have had this… Or this… With them… I forget that if it were not for Brighten A Corner I would never have gotten the privilege of friendship with the Tippitt family. We have shared laughs and tears; triumphs and tragedies. I did [...]
“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.” -John Milton That is the experience of Brighten A Corner Ministry. Watching God weave lives together, and beliefs into action is humbling. Each project is a celebration of what God has [...]
The end of one year and the beginning of another is a momentous time. It always feels like the perfect time to gain…momentum. Brighten A Corner Ministry and my life are so entwined that what affects one affects the other; lessons learned in one are almost always equally applicable in the other. As I enter [...]
Sometimes I think we are crazy. The Brighten A Corner leadership team, that is. Balancing life, businesses (we are all business owners), kids and planning projects is…let’s say, interesting. How do we figure out the best way to seek excellence in the work we do AND meet needs that are sometimes extremely intense? Trusting God’s timing [...]
Do you know what I mean when I say this felt like a very different Thanksgiving? Family members gone, marriages that didn’t make it, kids somewhere else, aging parents… I know many who felt that somewhere the spirit of Thanksgiving had been lost. In my family, it feels like we are grieving the living. My [...]
This is where it all began. It was one of our happier stories. We were reorganizing and redecorating a home for a family with triplet baby girls. We had a custom made, queen size crib to put in the largest bedroom that we (of course) painted pink. When Mary showed up to work we asked her [...]
It was nearly midnight. We had been in the car for a few hours, and yet no one was tired. Our hearts were full; he was coming home. Ten and a half months of praying; the longing of time and space between us and the ever-present truth that he was at war was almost over. [...]
I am developing a new habit. Every time I hear my children’s delight through laughter or squeals…I grab my camera. I want to remember why they laugh and squeal. I want to know what that looks like…so that I may live it with such abandon. How do we let life go by so fast? Life [...]
In my home, this is the face of possibility. Every parent of a special needs child faces the same decision: You either look for limitations, or you look for possibility. When it is time for our kids to go to school, we hope/wish/pray that the teacher and the classroom will open up possibilities that we [...]
Perspective is an amazing thing. A lump in your throat, a lump in your oatmeal, and a lump in your breast are not the same thing. Perspective. How I see things; how I process things; how I value things…THAT is my perspective. I am trying, searching, yearning, to align my perspective with that of my [...]
