Posts with the tag “authentic-christianity”

Cereal and salt...
November 8th, 2024
A few days ago, I had one of those simple-yet-profound moments. Sitting on the couch with my Bible and a bowl of my favorite cereal, Raisin Bran Crunch, I was ready to start the day. But after nearly ...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Identity Crisis...
November 1st, 2024
Last Saturday, I took my two oldest boys and a friend to Worlds of Fun, thanks to some free tickets Dallas scored. The park was packed—longer lines than I’ve ever seen—but that turned out to be a bles...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Friendly skies...
October 25th, 2024
I will never forget my first flight with my daughter as the pilot. She flew in to meet me on her own, and then we took off together for an incredible experience in the sky. I have to say, I was blown ...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
So fly...
October 18th, 2024
This past week, I was sitting in my office, deep in thought and preparing for my sermon, when I suddenly heard the familiar sound of buzzing. You know the sound—it’s like a tiny alarm clock going off,...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Snaking their way in...
October 4th, 2024
Last weekend, Leigh-Ann, the boys, and I drove out into the country to get haircuts and watch Sophia play soccer. We definitely enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine and decided to make a pit stop at a l...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Overcoming Pride: Lessons from Jonah’s Story...
September 20th, 2024
How well do you like to admit you were wrong?  Yeah, me neither…what is it that makes this so difficult?This afternoon I was working on some illustrations for Sunday and decided to enlist some help, s...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Wrong way...
September 13th, 2024
This past Tuesday, I went for a run—well, more of a duty to ease my guilt so I could justify eating ice cream later that night. I figured, “Run now, relax, and refuel later,” right?What could go wrong...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
New Life Sunday - Walking Stick...
September 6th, 2024
Earlier this week, I was all set to start a fire on the porch to chase away the chill. But when I looked at the fire thing-a-ma-jig, I discovered what I thought was a large stick. Turns out, it wasn’t...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Staying in the Rain...
August 30th, 2024
A few days ago, our middle son, Isaiah, got the chance to be a ball boy at the Sporting KC match. We were all pumped about it, ready for an evening of soccer thrills. But, as it turns out, soccer game...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Road trip...
August 2nd, 2024
This past Sunday was a day of both heart and hustle as we took our oldest daughter to medical school in Orlando. The alarm went off and within a short time, we were walking out the door at 5 am, to st...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Trapped...
July 12th, 2024
Last night, when most of the world was asleep, Leigh-Ann had an unexpected encounter that left her heart pounding. She walked into our bathroom and was met with a sight that would send shivers down an...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
New Life Sunday - Freedom 5K...
July 5th, 2024
Vacations are typically synonymous with relaxation, lounging by the pool, and indulging in good food. However, this year, we decided to spice things up by signing up for the "Run for Freedom" 5K at Bi...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Stars forever...
June 28th, 2024
This past week, our family managed to escape for a much-needed vacation. We swam, floated, read, and competed in all sorts of fun activities. But one of my favorite moments happened last night, and it...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
From the DMV to the Divine, prioritizing presence...
June 14th, 2024
If you’ve ever spent a morning, afternoon, or even a whole day waiting at the DMV, you know the frustration of feeling like just another number. Today, I needed to get one of the girl’s cars registere...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
Pizza, prime rib and my person ...
May 24th, 2024
Nearly thirty years ago, I was a Freshman in college and spent Spring Break traveling with several other students from Maranatha Baptist University. We started in Wisconsin and went out to the East Co...  Read More
by Diana Brooks
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
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
Topple...
April 5th, 2024
Easter Sunday breathes new life into us for many reasons. Personally, it started with seeing our New Life CityChurch family and worshipping together. This was truly a blessed time for worship and buil...  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
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 ...  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
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
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 ...  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 ...  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
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
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
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