Heather Mayer, MSF

I remember sitting in my second-grade class, my favorite elementary school teacher walking languidly between our desks on a warm, end of the school year day. It was a private, Lutheran school in mostly Hispanic town, but all the faces around me were white. In second grade, none of that registered. The thing that makes… Continue reading Flying Flags

Confession: I am the worst, WORST parent when it comes to keeping squeaky clean children. I think Josie washes her hair once a week. Maybe twice. And Carter…well he’s perpetual stinky feet because socks are annoying (I have to admit I feel him there) and now that summer is upon us, I don’t quite know… Continue reading

I should be paying bills. Or doing dishes. Or calling the church about my volunteer schedule. But I’m not, because opportunities to spill my brain’s overload into actual words on paper are happening…well let’s face it- it’s NOT happening right now. I was going to say like 5% of the time and that’s just a… Continue reading Middle of the Pack

Life seems to be built around a giant question of “what if?”. Framed in certain ways it can be a question that prompts discontent. “What if I made more money? What if I published a book and became famous? What if I lost 20 pounds?” But sometimes the “what if” is right in front of… Continue reading Beauty For Ashes

I have two, passionate, all-or-nothing children. There is no middle ground for them…in anything! They are having fun, or they are miserable. They love rosemary ham, or the LOATH rosemary ham. Paw Patrol is the best show ever or it is a “dumb baby show”. And when it comes to each other, they are either… Continue reading At the End of the Day

After an overtired, undercaffeinated, underwhelmed, and over IT morning, the kids and I had an afternoon of reset. Josie chose art, I chose to lift weights and sweat, and Carter didn’t get a choice. He napped. And after? After, we all followed our hearts and our noses outside and in to the shade where the… Continue reading Blackberries

I’m venturing out into territory that is not overtly Christian but is, in its own right, a holy path. I’m beginning a journey of self-acceptance that is long overdue, and I just haven’t been in the place to truly begin. Have you ever heard a particular message at just the right time? One that if… Continue reading Belly Love

I was scrolling through Instagram a couple of weeks ago and I came across a birth story post. The story was gorgeous: a long and exhausting but complication and pain medication-free, vaginal delivery of a baby boy. The mother was comparing this birth to a previous one that had been somewhat traumatic and many women… Continue reading No More Trigger Warnings

I always loved the word moderation. I associated it with small allowances of something in my life that I knew was bad for me, or small allowances of something for my children that I knew wasn’t ideal for their growth and development, but fell into the “fun” or “delicious” category. And if you think about… Continue reading The Myth of Moderation