Hey Brooke Fuller

Sanctuary

There was drizzly rain falling from the sky as I rode my bike home. It was the first day in awhile that felt like maybe fall was trying to break through the Oklahoma summer. The sun had just set and I could see a dark blob on my front porch. As I came closer I…
Under the Oak Tree

Sometimes we are running strong. Sometimes we are barely making it. Sometimes we want to give up. Sometimes we are just ready to be finished with the race. Regardless, Jesus is still Jesus and I’m glad I can rest in that. When you feel isolated and worn out, remember those who are running this race…
I love you, but I don’t want to see your castle.

There’s this ideal that motherhood is beautiful and full of cupcakes and rainbows and unicorns prancing through a daisy patch and if you read those motherhood books, you will know what to expect; but having over a decade of experience in motherhood, I’ve learned that there is no way to prepare for this role and…
35

35. The year my oldest daughter started baking me my favorite unfrosted angel food birthday cake. The year I spent half the morning riding around Hinton on my new birthday bike and the other half watching one of the most train-wreckish-but can’t-look-away type shows (Married At First Sight – you are the worst show ever).…
Immeasurably More

There’s something about rain and a porch and an empty screen that brings me a little extra joy..even when I don’t have anything specific to say. The past two months have been defined by change and I have not sat down to write since June 19th…which is quite weird for me. You’re welcome for the…
Days 8-?

In 6 years, Kyle and I have deliberately (for getaway type purposes) sent our kids away twice. Both times, we stayed two nights. We’ve never taken a long vacation. I like being home. I like the normalcy of it all. I am very impressed with nature and creation, but when thinking about places I’d like…
Day 7

Let it be noted that it is 9:59 and I am in bed. I will forego telling you about my day so that for once I can accomplish this piece of the challenge. Night owls, enjoy the night. Adios.
Day 5 & 6

It’s becoming a joke and I’m wondering why I even chose to add rest to my list. Ya wanna know what time I went to bed last night? Oh, you do. 4:30 AM Was I ready to go to bed at 4:30? No. But I chose to be an adult and got in bed. And…
Day 4

It was the phrase “R & R get in the van!” (in reference to Richard and Robert) that got me. I flipped straight to the last twenty pages of the book because I could no longer take it, found out everyone died, said “urgh” when I read the last sentence, and then prayed because I…
Day 3 & Hinoki

I have a favor to ask of you. One year ago today I was working on an autobiography (an assignment…not an actual book) and was posed with the task of wrapping it all up by writing one sentence that depicts who I am in my life journey so far. So I took it took the…
Day 2

At least two kittens and a beautiful orange, white and black momma have made their home under my porch. This is foreshadowing an event so I felt you should know. Remember when I was like, yeah…I’m going to do t, u, v, w, x, y, and z. Well it’s 10:35 as I sit down to…
Day 1

The mountain-sized pile of laundry on my bed has been staring me in the face all day. And yes, when J took a nap I just scooted a bit over and plopped him down right beside it all hoping he didn’t get lost in it. I woke up at 6:38 with excessive amounts of zeal.…
A Back Porch A-Ha

It started with grabbing a pair of my husband’s underwear and putting them on before going to a homecoming parade and it ended with dozing off while mumbling toward the bathroom for my curly little blonde headed, blue-eyed, not quite two year old to stop playing with a plunger…and somewhere in between these moments my…
Sometimes

Sometimes I make real “my-momma-taught-me-to-cook” meals for supper, other times I make Ramen noodles…and other other times I sit here and watch my husband cook while thinking about how much I do not want to cook. Sometimes I have every ounce of laundry in the house done, other times I have two baskets full of…
Beyond the Label

Whether it be graduating school, ending an athletic career, changing jobs, taking on a label you never asked for, becoming an empty-nester, entering into mid-life/senior status, or whatever the heck else role it is that might be coming or going, just remember your worth is not tied solely to this title. You are worth far…
Trying to determine if parenthood is the life for you?

Here are some tips I can give to help you get through any baby fever you might have currently or in the future and determine if parenthood is the life for you? Make a bowl of your favorite food. Eat most of it. Look forward to the last bite and then throw it in the…
Enjoy it.

I’m standing in a doorway. The doorway that bridges the “I’m losing my mind and drowning in baby, toddler, and little kid life” life and the “enjoy it; it will be over before you know it” life. And…yes, I did cry in Walmart after my realization. A young couple with a baby were checking out…
When the baby moments slip away.

At what point in my life did I ever think I’d get sad that I finished my last load of laundry? I honestly have come to a point in my life where washing laundry, swapping it all over, and folding it is one of the most refreshing things I do. I still leave putting it…
God did not settle on you.

For anyone in that boat today…God did not settle on your kids. Again, not saying I know His thoughts, but I’m assuming He did not say, “eh, I know this one deserves a more crafty mom, but I don’t feel like magnificently orchestrating this connection so let’s just throw you in (eeny-meeny-miny-mo) that womb.
Wonders Are Still What You Do!

I had incredible friends in high school. The kind that built me up and encouraged me in my faith. They walked closely with Christ and in everything pointed me toward Him. I grew used to this and was very grateful. The summer before I started college, in a town where I knew absolutely no one,…
Her Hands Are Busy

For a moment, think about all the tasks your hands do as a mother… ….. ….. ….. Okay stop! You’re brain is probably being overloaded right now. Wiping faces off, fixing clothing, moving teeny hairs, putting shoes back on (of course this is just while taking family photos). Your hands hits that alarm clock, dress…
When the Lights Go Out

Well…here are all (AKA some of those thoughts) I told you I’d write. My oldest daughter has officially been dunked in the water. There are days that I see people baptized and it moves me to tears and excitement…and although I am thrilled for Hads, more than anything I feel the weight (and joy) of…
Expect Miracles

Haddi is starting a flower shop. She has precisely 31 little sprouts today. Last month she loathed me because I wouldn’t let her start an animal shelter in our backyard. I’m a much bigger fan of the flower shop. But 31 isn’t enough. She insists we buy more seeds, more soil, and more of the…
I Fixed My Hair With a Piece of Trash

Tonight I put my hair in a ponytail using a laffy-taffy wrapper. I live in Oklahoma. Where the wind comes sweeping down the flippin’ plains and brings leaves that hit you in the face but feel more like rocks. After a very long April of 2-3 soccer games a week, we have finally arrived at…
The Dumb Trash Can

stop and remember the quote of my good friend’s good friend…”On the scale of one to eternity…” it helps me put things back into perspective. What in the world is important? What are you chasing? Is it something that will be swept away or is it something that will last.
All Aboard the Struggle Bus

Real life. That’s what’s missing in the world of social media. People put up these pretty pictures and talk about all the goodness in their lives, but holy sheesh I have tons of people tell me how much they appreciate hearing about the craziness of my life because it makes them feel like they are…
Known in Our Suffering

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus,…
Stay Curious

“I want you to stay curious. You don’t have Me figured out.” Over the past few years, Kari Jobe has become one of my favorite worship leaders. Not just because she is an incredible singer, which she is. Or that her clothes make me happy. Or that when she leads as a very very pregnant…
Desire of My Heart

“I forgot the toilet paper.” I said yesterday before putting all of my kids’ coats back on to load them back in the car to retrieve the toilet paper I left sitting on the self-checkout counter. This morning I brushed Hads’ hair without her whining once. This afternoon as I was standing in the check-out…
Shake My Life

Sometimes I’m on the verge of praying for something and I question whether or not I should actually say it. Brooke, if you say that…He might just do it. I sat there thinking and thinking before I finally worked up the courage to ask God to shake my life. I’m so beyond tired of this American-dream life I…