Tracey Rector is a freelance writer in Birmingham, Alabama. She and her husband Al are the parents of three adult children who are reasonably well-adjusted. She is a member of Brookwood Baptist Church where she taught youth Sunday School and plays in the handbell choir. She loves reading mysteries, cooking for her family and friends, and singing silly songs to her grandchildren Joshua and Evelyn.
Imagine six short months ago: someone from the future tells you that in just a few weeks, a deadly virus will sweep the Earth. Countries on every continent will go into lockdown. You will be unable to leave…
As our national quarantine enters its sixth week, most of us have settled into a routine of sorts. We find ourselves working from home and homeschooling our kids at the same time. Some of us have arranged quarantine…
While we may feel tapped out, as though we have nothing to offer anymore, empty nesters are in a unique position to fill a needed place in youth ministry.
Pain, need… and gratitude. One of these things is definitely not like the others, but they are intimately related. A friend shared a moment with me that perfectly illustrates how these opposites work together. She recently took a…
I’m not sure when the reality of our empty nest hit me first. It might have been just a couple of days after my youngest child left for college, when I began thinking about what to cook for…
Parenting all too often seems to be about doing things we really don’t want to do. We don’t want to discipline our kids. We don’t want to tell them they can’t have everything they want. We don’t want…
