Real Life Archives - Faith Spilling Over

When You Need an Anchor of Hope in the Storm

September 12, 2017 by betsydecruz 28 Comments

When life brings you a storm, you need an anchor. The #AnchoredInBook will encourage you to take your eyes off your problems and focus on God's power.

“Mom, we need to pray urgently for my flight.” My heart lurched when I read the text from my son. Since we live in the Middle East, I hadn’t noticed news of a hurricane back in Texas. Our family hadn’t seen Andres for 9 months, and all summer we’d been looking forward to his visit before school started.

Hurricane Harvey changed our plans. Four hours after Andres arrived to Houston for his flight home, both the airport and the roads around the neighborhood where he was staying closed due to flooding.

“Our electricity may be cut, so I’ll turn my phone off to save power. No news is good news,” read another text.

We’d expected to spend a joyous week as a family reunited, but instead we spent a stressful week on the phone checking on our son, rescheduling his flight multiple times, and watching the heartbreaking news from Houston.

Life changes quicker than you can blink when a storm hits.

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When You Need to Do Busy Better

July 5, 2017 by betsydecruz 30 Comments

Hurry turns me into someone I don't want to be, but the new book Doing Busy Better by Glynnis Whitwer is showing me how to hit a reset button in my life.

When my kids were little, getting them out the door turned into a major military operation with me as the commander-in-chief. I’d rush around to grab snacks, extra clothes, and playthings to entertain them in the car. Next I’d herd everyone to the bathroom and then to the door. I’d sweat over putting everyone’s shoes on. A few years went by, and I’d break out in a sweat watching them grapple to get their shoes on themselves.

I didn’t like the person I became during those mad dashes out of the house. I’d bark out orders, roll my eyes, and yell, “Come on, guys!” I blamed my bad attitude on my kids, who constantly made us late. In reality, I was the one who hadn’t left enough margin in my schedule for the “I-need-a-miracle-now” feat of getting two toddlers out the door.

I thought my drill sergeant days would end when the kids got older

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Quick Summer Reads When You Need Help with Your Teens

June 6, 2017 by betsydecruz 18 Comments

More family time together and soaring temperatures might frazzle your nerves, but these quick summer reads will encourage your relationship with your teens.

Does the thought of summer bring peace to your soul, or strike terror in your heart? While some moms breathe a sigh of relief in June at the thought of slower routines, others secretly feel apprehensive. Summer might mean more time with your kids because they’re out of school, and you’re wondering how you’ll hold on to your sanity. [Read more…]

When You Want to Look More Like Jesus

January 24, 2017 by betsydecruz 35 Comments

We're the only letter from Jesus some of our friends and family may read, but we don't have to be perfect. How can we be Jesus to people around us today? I look in the mirror, and I don’t look much like Jesus. I look like a homeschooling writer mom hanging on by a thread: rumpled clothes because I had no time to iron and graying hair that was brushed hours ago. Smile lines crinkle around my eyes. Middle age spread is spreading around my middle. Looking at my spattered apron, you’d have no idea that Jesus lives in me.

Yet His Word says we’re temples of His Holy Spirit. [Read more…]

The Most Powerful Word You Can Pray

January 17, 2017 by betsydecruz 48 Comments

Have you been in situations where your heart is so overwhelmed that words fail? Here's how you can pray. One word is all you need.

I didn’t even notice the sounds of explosion and gunfire because it had been raining and thundering all day. But when my husband walked in the door and said, “There’s been an explosion nearby!” I jumped.

“Are you sure it wasn’t thunder?” I asked.

“No, it wasn’t. Don’t you hear the sirens?”

I realized I’d heard it after all. I could pinpoint the moment I heard abnormally loud, close thunder. A half hour had gone by, but we could still hear ambulance sirens from the streets around our house. [Read more…]

Life changes quicker than you can blink when a storm hits.

I thought my drill sergeant days would end when the kids got older

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