Posts with the tag “sunday”

An ideal personality...
May 10th, 2024
What does the ideal personality look like to you? Is there a single word that comes to mind?Now, before we dive in, let’s set the record straight: I don’t believe there’s an ideal one-size-fits-all pe...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Embrace it...
May 3rd, 2024
Yesterday, our oldest daughter graduated from college. She has made great friends, learned a lot, and is now all grown up. In the words of one of the speakers yesterday, she is now an “adult, adult.”I...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
The joy of mulch...
April 26th, 2024
One of my favorite times every Spring is the day we spread new mulch in our yard. Since I love getting a good deal, I typically wait until I can buy it for $2 per bag. And this season didn’t disappoin...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Golazo...
April 19th, 2024
Dallas and I were pumped as we made our way to GEHA Arrowhead Stadium for the showdown between Inter Miami and Sporting Kansas City. But let’s be real, we were really there for one reason – to catch a...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Donuts with Dad...
April 12th, 2024
A few weeks ago, my youngest son Ian invited me to join him for “Doughnuts with Dad” at his school. I must admit, the prospect of waking up early to hang out in a cafeteria filled with elementary scho...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Undefeated...
March 29th, 2024
As I walked into our living room a week ago and saw my college wrestling coach Ben Peterson, the memories flooded back—sweat-drenched practices, hard-fought victories, and his life-changing influence....  Read More
by Diana Brooks
New Digs...
March 22nd, 2024
This past week has been a whirlwind of activity at the New Life office. It’s almost like watching a team of caffeinated beavers (side note: we also have a new coffee maker) on a mission to turn the pl...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Come from behind...
March 15th, 2024
Over the past few days, my newsfeed has been popping with NFL teams making moves by trading, signing, and releasing football players. Although I’ve never had to deal with this sort of stress, every na...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Wrong way...
March 8th, 2024
A few weeks ago, I was driving downtown Kansas City, heading back to the church office and I noticed a car coming towards me while I was stopped at a light…nicely obeying all traffic laws 😊.I watched ...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
For the win...
March 1st, 2024
Earlier today, my brother Todd and I and Dallas drove over to Council Bluffs, IA to watch my nephew compete in the Junior College National wrestling tournament. At the beginning of the day, there were...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
On the mooove...
February 23rd, 2024
Yesterday evening, Leigh-Ann took our youngest boy, Ian to Tai-kwon-do and I was in charge of dropping off Isaiah and picking up Dallas from soccer training. Since the weather was nice, Dallas and I d...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
A Response to tragedy...
February 16th, 2024
This past week has been tough. The Chiefs won the Super Bowl and about a million of our closest friends squeezed together for a celebratory parade.We enjoyed plenty of cheering and revisiting our favo...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Because I'm happy...
February 2nd, 2024
What makes you happy?There are plenty of things that make me happy.This weather makes me happy – plus Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow. Early Spring is on the way! And if you want to get a litt...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Wrestling...
January 26th, 2024
This past week, Isaiah entered his first wrestling tournament. This is a pretty big deal in our household. I started wrestling about the same time I learned how to crawl and went through college…also…...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Significance...
January 19th, 2024
Super Bowl LVIII will be held on Sunday, February 11, 2024. This will be a game between the two best football teams in the world (at least at the time 😊).If you are a Chiefs fan, you are hoping we can...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Adversity...
January 12th, 2024
About five years ago, we took a family trip through Birmingham AL for a wedding.  It’s amazing how much kids can grow in 5 years!I was reminded of some historical sites we visited while we were in Bir...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Family, food, and fun...
January 5th, 2024
Today we are headed back to Kansas City after spending several days with family to begin 2024 in Florida. We loved soaking in some sunshine and warmer weather while relaxing and spending time together...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Hang on or hang up...
December 29th, 2023
A few minutes ago, I was putting some final touches on my sermon for Sunday. I want to end our Advent Series, “Embracing Eternity” from the Psalms well. I also want to provide some practical ways to b...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Favorite traditions...
December 23rd, 2023
Christmas is a time for favorite traditions.If you are like me, you probably have some favorite Christmas songs (Gloria in Excelsis Deo-sung loudly in my best dad voice 😊)…favorite Christmas movies (D...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Solo...
December 15th, 2023
This past week, we were able to attend the elementary Christmas program at Isaiah and Ian’s school.To be honest, after five kids, the elementary program is typically one of my least favorite things to...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Aux...
December 8th, 2023
Recently we were driving in the car, going back and forth about who gets “Aux” (the person who gets to pick the songs). In case you are wondering, everyone in our family is competitive, so “Aux” can b...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Hope...
December 1st, 2023
Welcome to the first day of December! I had a conversation with someone earlier today, and it struck me how, during this season, time seems to slip away, and suddenly Christmas is upon us.The calendar...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Somethings Missing...
November 24th, 2023
Yesterday, while stuffing our faces 😊 with Thanksgiving dinner, we randomly picked “Thanksgiving conversation prompts” from a bowl and then went around the table.My particular prompt was, “What’s the ...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Teamwork makes the dream work...
November 18th, 2023
I love experiencing a group of people who are unified…totally locked in with each other…moving toward a common goal…a big goal…and then experiencing a once-in-a-generation win.Don’t you?Consider “Mira...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Light on the horizon...
November 10th, 2023
It’s been a week since we observed Daylight Savings Time.We did get an extra hour of sleep, however, we’ve also lost an hour of daylight….every…single…day.As we were driving home just past 6 pm today,...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
A fresh perspective...
November 3rd, 2023
This past week, our second daughter, Sophia was able to fly a plane for the first time. She is a Freshman at the University of Central Missouri where she is on the soccer team and also studying to bec...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Unfair Evaluation...
October 27th, 2023
A few days ago, I was able to take our two youngest boys to Shelter KC to share in the evening chapel service. When possible, I love to include our kids in service opportunities, so the plan was to in...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
It all started in a middle seat...
October 21st, 2023
Nearly fifteen years ago, I met Dave Robinson. We had been invited to talk about combining forces for a prayer meeting in downtown Kansas City.The meeting went ok but our ideas never really went anywh...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Bundle Up...
October 13th, 2023
We are in a seasonal sweet spot! Fall is my favorite time of the year.Sweatshirts and pumpkin spice lattes. Football and Hot Apple Cider and Bonfires. It seems like only recently that we were navigati...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Memory lane even has a slide...
September 29th, 2023
Have you ever gone back and visited a place where you built fond memories and when you arrived….it was much smaller than you remembered?This past summer our family took a ride East on I-70 out to a pl...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Gel Blasters...
September 23rd, 2023
Our boys have discovered one of the greatest toy inventions of the decade!It’s not a fidget spinner or Nintendo Switch….it’s not Razor Scooter and its not stuffed….they have discovered Gel blaster gun...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Joy with a side of disappointment...
September 15th, 2023
Yogi Berra, the author of some of my favorite quotes had a way of stating the obvious….obviously!He was born in St. Louis and grew up in a working-class neighborhood. He loved baseball and became one ...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
It's Backkk...
September 8th, 2023
About three months ago, I opened the garage door bright and early on a Sunday morning…and noticed something was different…but not sure what it was……it took a few seconds….and then I realized there was...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Sometimes we do need to sweat the small things...
September 1st, 2023
Earlier this week our oldest daughter, Alexa came home to shadow a physician as a part of her preparation for the future. She left right after an early morning soccer practice and drove home. Her tire...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Sprayed...
August 18th, 2023
This rain has been great, but it’s also creating more work. I would much rather look at green grass but brown grass requires less maintenance 😊.This past Monday, Ian was helping me mow the back yard a...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Time Flies...
August 11th, 2023
Last Saturday evening, I was waiting for one of the boy’s soccer games to begin and was watching some really young girls play, but I couldn’t stop watching the parents.It was entertaining to see what ...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Leap of Faith...
August 4th, 2023
Several weeks ago, while on vacation, most of our family took a leap of faith. For more than a decade while vacationing on Table Rock Lake, we have watched people jump off a cliff. And for more than a...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
#nofilter...
July 28th, 2023
Several weeks ago, while on vacation, we were waiting for a shuttle and several of us noticed a beautiful tree. It was night time and most of the light was coming from the moon, although it was a clea...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Livin' on mission...
July 21st, 2023
Over the past few days about 20-25 teens and leaders have been living at New Life, serving the city, eating a lot, and sleeping a little.Several years ago our church began the tradition of serving rig...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
24 Miles...
July 14th, 2023
This morning at 7 am, our kids and two of their cousins started a challenge….run 1 mile an hour for 24 hours. So far, as I write, the core of the group is up to 11 miles and counting….Based on their c...  Read More
by Diana Brooks