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best posts of 2022

Today, my oldest is headed for continued training with the Marines; the 1987 Nissan Z he’s been flipping–the one the still needs the muffler?–sits resignedly outside. My youngest, a delight and a straight-up handful, is with extended family.  And thanks to this past year’s new puppy, I’m up early.

(This morning’s tea choice: Stash’s Licorice Spice. But since we’re talking New Year’s, my favorite of 2022 has definitely been Tazo’s Glazed Lemon Loaf.)

So I’ve printed out my yearly prayer of Examen–my third year of a new personal tradition. Like the Israelites standing at the Jordan and choosing stones of remembrance (Joshua 4), I’m looking back at how I’ve seen God writing His story in and around me. And how his presence has met me there.

I’m peering ahead, too, choosing how I want to–in trust of him–walk forward.

In 2023, may you be hounded

Since holding my daughter on New Year’s Eve with her own emotions about the New Year, I’ve been chewing on the final verse of Psalm 23: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” 

The Hebrew word for “goodness” here is tov–the word God proclaims seven times over creation in Genesis 1. And the word translated “mercy” is actually hesed, a word I’ve explored on the blog before. It means “steadfast love” or “covenant love.”  Paul Miller describes it as “love without an exit strategy.”

Author and therapist KJ Ramsey reports in The Lord is My Courage: Stepping Through the Shadows of Fear Toward the Voice of Love that Jim Wilder describes hesed as God’s “attachment love”–a bit like the unconditional, unearned attachment love for my kids they can never shake.

Ramsey writes of these words in Psalm 23,

Like a radial line connecting across the circle of the psalm, the first and seventh cameos form a pair. When David names God as his shepherd, in whom he lacks nothing because of God’s protection (cameo 1), he is saying that God’s tov and hesed are why and how his deepest needs have been met (cameo 7).

When Jesus presents himself as the Good Shepherd in John 10, he deliberately traces himself into the literary circle of Psalm 23, with poetic prose in the same ring composition as the psalm.

But wait! There’s more.

Tov and hesed meet in Christ’s bones, breath, heart, and hands. Jesus speaks in concert with the deliberate parallelism rooted in David’s ancient song. Just as in Psalm 23, the first and seventh cameos in this scene form a pair, but here the literary climax comes when Christ says that the good shepherd gives his own life for the sheep.

….Our truest selves—the selves not bound by time and space or any scarcity—are seated with Christ where tov and hesed are already ours (Ephesians 2:6). And it is as witnesses of Christ’s costly love that we become witnesses of his life filling ours, bringing tov where there is chaos and offering hesed where there has been harm.*

But even more, in the word translated “follow,” “Radaph is the Hebrew word here, and it means to pursue, chase, and persecute…the goodness and love of God hound us.”

Goodness, this way

As your family flips the page to the unknowns of 2023, I hope you’re able to sift out God’s goodness, his attachment love hounding you. I hope you can intentionally choose the peace Jesus has already bought for us and our families.

And even if there’s a lot of fear for the next year?

May God’s presence meet you at every curve.

(You may like these posts with journal prompts, ways to reflect on how God’s working in your kids, and ideas to help kids set holistic New Year’s goals.)

Here, the best posts of 2022, according to reader traffic (that’s you!). Feel free to share!

The Best “Awkward Mom” Posts of 2022

“Is This Really Where I’m Supposed to Be?”

Sometimes in darkness, in a tsunami of loss and doubt, you’re wondering “Is this where I’m supposed to be?” Keep this in mind.

(This is the post where I also talk about my son’s graduation from the U.S. Marines’ boot camp, at long last.)

Walking with Kids through Church Hurt

Most people who walk away from the Church do so because of emotional or personal trauma. How can we help kids navigate church hurt?

Here We Go: Another Personal Update

Though I’m a little surprised this one made it in the best posts of 2022–it’s been awhile since I’ve underwhelmed you with an update on my family. Pull up a chair, and let’s share a cup o’ joe.

Not Enough: When Self-Doubt is Real

Maybe the prevailing message of your life right now isn’t “You’re killin’ it!” What do you do when you’re not enough?

Permanent Markers Printables

To dovetail with my first solo book, Permanent Markers: Spiritual Life Skills to Write On Your Kids’ Hearts (Harvest House), I created a boatload of printables to help kids learn to love Jesus. Though this wasn’t technically one of the best posts of 2022, sounds like it’s still a hit.

(Shameless plug: Though the Amazon reviews are holding strong, there’s not many. If you’ve read this book already, I would be tremendously grateful more reviews. …Especially good ones?!)

Grief as a Parent: What to Expect When You Didn’t Expect It

Do you remember the first time you experienced grief as a parent–the power of raising a child now held over your wellbeing and happiness?

I do.

Why Your Marriage Needs Sex (& other recent articles)

(And now, for the post my teenagers may pretend they don’t know about, but that none of you might be surprised made the best posts of 2022.)

Sex restates over and over our connectedness, in ways that cling to us. Is it possible your marriage needs sex more than you think?

What You Absolutely Cannot Do as a Parent

Parenting can feel…powerless. Rather than rallying your resources, you should first know what’s outside of your capability.

A Parenthood Christmas

Few people tell you about parenthood, “This is going to gut you like a fish.” But it blessed & gutted Mary–and she wasn’t the first one.

2 (Non-Gift) Gifts to Give Your Kids this Month

Looking for gifts to give your kids that stick for a lifetime? Start with these two–which are increasingly rare.

 

Happy New Year, friends. May you continue to lean into the awkward.

 

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*Ramsey, K.J. The Lord Is My Courage (p. 232, 233, 234). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.