On June 19, 1865 — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation — enslaved people in Galveston, Texas finally received word that they were free. Not when freedom was declared. When it finally arrived. FREEDOM That gap matters. It's the space between what's promised and what's experienced, between the law on paper and the life it's supposed to protect. And if you've ever waited on something that should have come sooner — an apology, a long-overdue conversation, recognition you'd...

I've been a Martha lately. Not the kind who gets credit for showing up. The kind who can't stop moving. Who answers one more email, accepts one more project, says yes one more time, and calls it faithfulness. It isn't. You know the story when Jesus visits the home of two sisters. Mary sits at his feet. Martha works. And when Martha finally breaks, frustrated, depleted, looking for someone to validate her busyness, Jesus doesn't give her what she's asking for. He gives her something better....

When I homeschooled our four children, teaching the youngest spelling was a challenge. He would sound out a word and, more frequently than not, I said, "That's an exception to the rule." It reached a point where I would hesitate, and he would say, "An exception to the rule, right?" I don't know who ended up more frustrated. No wonder I was so frustrated learning to spell as a kid. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iIWYEEqR5r4