Dianna Buchwalter

  The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.   Lamentations 3:22-23 As soon as my eyes opened wide, I mindlessly scrolled through my phone.  I messed up today, Lord. Priorities already misaligned.   Woke the kids up for school and spilled coffee on my shirt. Put a dirty dish in the fridge and dropped my laptop in the dirt.   No time to read my Bible this morning, so I listened through the app in the car. Slammed the brakes just in time. I didn’t see the animal from afar.     Pulled up to the school and yelled at my daughter for no reason. Tried to make myself feel better by saying: it’s only this crazy season.   Frazzled and annoyed, I sat down at my desk. While secretly wishing I had more time to rest.   Lost in work and emails and scratching off to-dos. I sighed a little loud and wondered, God, where are you?   He answered back, but I ...

  Meet Christopher, the elf. He's eleven years old, but in elf years, more like 60. He hibernates 11 months out of the year, loves to ride on ceiling fans and can be quite mischievous at night. Or, at least he used to be. Christopher was adopted by our family when my son was five years old. An immediate friendship was born between the two of them. The elf went everywhere my son went. Each year, when Christmastime was over, Christopher would  have to say goodbye and when he did, left a sad little boy behind.  A few years later, Mittens, the girl elf, was adopted by my daughter. Later, the tiny elf, Bob, Jr joined the family. For many years, this was one of my most favorite traditions at Christmastime. I couldn't wait to see the kids reactions when they arose each morning to see what those silly elves had gotten themselves into! Fast forward a couple of years. My 16 year old son is now juggling school, work and a social life. Gone are the days of make believe where elves ba...

“Just give me ten minutes please” I said in an elevated voice to my two children as one would call out "MOOMMMYYYY" and then the other.  It was 8:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning.  How could they bicker already I thought to myself. I cuddled up under my blanket, anxious to dive into the word and get lost for a moment with Jesus.  Two minutes later, one barges in my room followed by the other.  All I wanted was a few minutes alone with my Daddy.  I knew I wouldn’t get the study time I needed or wanted, so I waited.  As a single mom, it’s common for me to forego my quiet time for later in the day or at night once I know I can concentrate.  If you’re a single parent to smaller children, can you relate?  They require so much of our time that it’s hard to find solitude.  In an attempt to sneak in peace and quiet, we tiptoe around our home while they sleep, whisper long winded prayers like Lord, give me strength and play hide and seek,...