As it’s Mother’s Day today, we thought you might like to know a little bit about the woman who pushed for its official establishment as a holiday. Her name was Anna Jarvis, and based on the stories about her that have endured from her time (the turn of the 19th century) to ours, she could be rather...difficult.

Mother’s Day is next Sunday! If your eyes got wide when you read that statement, this post is for you. There’s still time to prepare a thoughtful gift for the mom (or other woman who means the world to you!) in your life, and this week we’d like to offer you an idea that is mom tested, mom approved.

Regardless of whether you currently have a dog or cat in your home, this week you and your family can partake in some of the fringe benefits of pet ownership by taking yourselves on a walk...with the excitement and curiosity you’d observe if you were walking a dog!

Right on the heels of Easter, and in the midst of a beautiful Arizona spring, we welcomed three new members into Desert Mission. The sense of renewal and growth is palpable in everything around us, so this week, get outside and plant something!

As we move through the season of Lent, we’ve been sharing the Godly Play story we tell in Sunday School every year, the Faces of Easter. This story takes us, week by week, on a journey through special moments in the life of Jesus from infancy through adulthood, and brings us closer to the mystery of Easter. This week, as we welcome the day of Easter, share in the seventh part of the story, the one that tells of Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection.