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Hello Reader,

If you've ever been in a tight spot or faced dangerous circumstances or found yourself walking through the valley of the shadow of death, you've doubtlessly discovered how fast and furiously the prayers flow during such experiences.

Even atheists have been known to plead for divine intervention once they realize nothing short of a miracle of God can save them.

Well, those were the kinds of prayers we were sending up from our 12-passenger van as we white-knuckled our way, inch-by-inch, down an icy and extremely treacherous mountain pass a few days ago.

We were praying not only for our own safety, but also for the welfare of the long line of drivers that were slipping and sliding all over the road ahead of us. We didn't want to careen off a snowy cliff ourselves, but neither did we want to witness any of our fellow travelers plummet to their death before our very eyes.

I've heard it said, "If you pray only when you're in trouble, you're in trouble." And that's probably true.

For the record, our family prayed together that God would keep us safe on the road before we ever pulled out of our clear and sunny driveway at home. And my husband and I thanked Him for His traveling mercies and prayed for His continued protection every morning in our hotel room before setting out on each new leg of our journey.

It's a comfort to know He is with us on sunny days as well as stormy. In the green valleys as well as the icy peaks. In times of plenty and in times of want. In sickness and in health. For better and for worse.

Even so, I'm grateful for the hard times, for they make me even more thankful for the easy. Don't they you?

Free resources for you this week:

• ​Pretty Prayer Guides - download as many of these free Bible-based printables as you like
• ​Pray Hardest When It is Hardest to Pray - some thoughts on cultivating a vibrant prayer life
• ​Model Prayer Coloring Page - the words Jesus taught His disciples to pray
• ​Mealtime and Bedtime Prayers for Children - to help cultivate this habit in your kids
• ​House of Prayer Coloring Page - another hand-lettered Bible verse to color

What I'm reading this week:

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​Love Not the World by Watchman Nee is a brief but challenging book that is well worth the read. My favorite quote: "Every glory that is not glory to God is vain glory, and it is amazing what paltry successes can produce vain glory. Wherever we meet pride, we meet the world. And there is an immediate leakage in our fellowship with God. O, that God would open our eyes to see clearly what the world is. Not only evil things but all those things that draw us ever so gently away from God are units of that system that is antagonistic to Him." ​

On the podcast this week:

Loving Life at Home: Episode 43 ​A SURE-FIRE WAY TO WIPE OUT WHINING​ If you’ve ever had a child who is given to whining, you know how grating it can get on the nerves of every member of the household. Thankfully, there is an effective way to help your little one break this bad habit. Listen in for six strategies that are sure to help. ​ Listen Now

Progress on last week's goals:

I finished just about everything on last week's list:We ✅ visited lots of National Parks, ✅ took in two more state capitols, ✅ got our capitol passport files ready to print (awaiting proofs now -- will share next week), ✅ created another monthly Bible memory challenge for my grandkids (but haven't mailed it), and ✅ finished 7 more Spanish lessons on the road.

Personal goals for this week:

• Wrap up this road trip and (Lord willing) make it home safely
• Meet our newest grandson (born May 5 while we were away)
• Babysit another set of grandkids for several days
• Go blackberry picking
• Bake several panfuls of berry crisp
• Approve proofs and get latest printables uploaded to our shop​

That's it for now. If you read this today, please say a prayer for us as we travel -- and for me in particular, as I think there must've been some tainted shrimp in my spring roll last night. I usually don't eat shellfish, but I'm especially regretting that one. 🤢