Well, I thought I was on a roll with posting again… and I even had a great game plan of writing using a different letter of the alphabet… and then I got derailed at the letter “D.” Good golly, I sure didn’t make it very far, did I?

D proved to be a tricky letter for me. I started a post about how I’m loving DESIGN more lately and how I’m using Microsoft Publisher more. I really love the flexibility that it gives me and how I can keep a bunch of stuff on the clipboard in my project that doesn’t actually show up on my created document. I also love how I can easily overlap different pictures and words. Apparently I should have been using Publisher a long time ago. I’ve been making Microsoft Word do all of those things, but it took me SO much more work to get it the way I wanted.

I also thought about writing about DATES and how Tim and I are starting to go on Friday night dates again. This year I adjusted my schedule so I’m done teaching at 6:00 on Friday nights, which opens up being able to schedule that time in with him. Even though we see a lot of each other in his off season, I’m not always great about making time for him specifically, so I’m excited about this window of time. Plus Chloe has been more willing to babysit than she was a year ago, so that’s great.

And finally, I also thought about writing about DEMONS and how they have become a regular conversation at our house. This was a particularly hard one for me, but I really felt the urge to write about this. I am generally careful to avoid writing about heavy topics or controversial topics. However… we are fighting an unseen battle that rages all around us, all the time. I used to be scared of talking about it and avoided conversations about it–until we were forced into the topic this past year. Chloe has had to deal with real demons in her life and we all had to rally with her to help her fight. The devil does not play fair. He never has and he never will. And while I think that kids should be off limits, he doesn’t see things that way. I have cried more tears over the past year than I ever have–and so many angry tears over how I wish I could fight the battle for her. I’m older. I’m stronger. I should be able to fight for her. But I can’t. She has fought and grown and pushed through in ways I cannot even fathom doing when I 14 years old. I am so proud of her. Someday God is going to use her for something big.