The Life Lessons I Learned When I Change My Name in First Grade
I was five years old in Miss Judy’s kindergarten when I saw my full name written out for the first time. Hilary Blake Palmer. Written in my mother’s perfectly perfect handwriting. I can see the blue book bag (all my things were blue or yellow and my sister’s were red or pink) hanging on a hook in the classroom in Miss Judy’s house. It felt so odd to see my name, to know it was my name and yet not know who this person was. For my entire life my family and friends called me by


Drawing the Boundary Lines of Blessed Life
Psalm 16:5-6 5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. 6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. When my husband and I first married, he was still in college and we were both working different hours. Looking back, I imagine the first years of our married life were a lot like many others first years. We were growing up, learning to live on our own, making decisions as a couple and paying our o