Marnie Hammar
Where We Are Doesn't Have to be Where We Stay
I have a thing for barns. Most weekends, back roads are our choice for getting to soccer, and if I’m lucky enough to be a passenger...
Writing
Looking for just the real, actual blog posts? You found 'em. Here's where I write about what God is teaching me in the every day.
Marnie Hammar
- Mar 2, 2021
- 7 min
Is God Really Right Here?
I had my littlest with me on this quick grocery run. It was one of those steamy summer days where you don’t want to accidentally step off...
Marnie Hammar
- Feb 23, 2021
- 8 min
How Do I Listen for God?
He was relaxing on our mauve hand-me-down couch, watching our fancy new 19” television — a wedding gift we were giddy about. I was...
Marnie Hammar
- Feb 10, 2021
- 5 min
Can I Expect to Hear God?
We were having our very orange-y hardwood floors redone. If you’ve done it, you know, it’s a whole thing. I stood there, holding a...
Marnie Hammar
- Feb 3, 2021
- 4 min
Will God Speak, Even to Me?
I’d had nightmares about it, but in 25 years, it hadn’t happened. Until it did. My oldest son and I were sitting in my...
Marnie Hammar
- Jan 28, 2021
- 5 min
If I Seek God, Will I Really Find Him?
My brother suspiciously disappeared around the time the cookie jar went missing. He was five, I was seven, and while there was no hard...
Marnie Hammar
- Jan 8, 2021
- 4 min
Let's Begin at the Start: An Introduction
An Introduction to the Hear Him Louder Essay Series I just thought that Jesus was a decision I made that one time when I was five. I had...
Marnie Hammar
- Dec 15, 2020
- 5 min
Chasing the Thrill of Hope | Week Three: Be Still
The shepherds had to decide: Guard the sheep or see the Lamb? In the middle of their must’s, they chose to be still.
Marnie Hammar
- Dec 8, 2020
- 4 min
Chasing the Thrill of Hope | Week Two: Be Present
But one person stayed present in a conversation where the obvious answer was “no" and made room.
Marnie Hammar
- Dec 2, 2020
- 5 min
Chasing the Thrill of Hope | Week One: Be Open
I started wondering how it’s all going to fit together this year. How do I check off all the must’s, but balance all of the maybe’s?
Marnie Hammar
- Nov 10, 2020
- 4 min
On Picking Up Our Broken Pieces
Whether he likes or not (he doesn’t), my middle son unloads the dishwasher every day. Last week, as he was stretching to put a serving...
Marnie Hammar
- Oct 29, 2020
- 3 min
On Chasing Light and Turning from Vultures
The sun reached forward, adorning the tops of trees and tips of houses in gold. I needed to be out in it, to feel on my face and my...
Marnie Hammar
- Oct 13, 2020
- 3 min
On Forgiveness: A Fight for the Promise of More?
The afternoon sun reached through the window, shining on my morning coffee. The day had passed without me. I pretended to not think about...
Marnie Hammar
- Sep 29, 2020
- 4 min
An Awkward Lesson in Love from Junior High Pickup
Really, it doesn't matter whether she was right or wrong. What matters is who I was in response.
Marnie Hammar
- Sep 8, 2020
- 5 min
From Hearing to Healing: How God Spoke Into My Pain
It wasn’t necessarily a deception, but it felt like it. We’d been led to believe something that would change our family forever —...
Marnie Hammar
- Aug 18, 2020
- 3 min
What I Learned from Being the Liar on the Playground
My mom took my brother and I to a park in a neighboring town that was much bigger than our little burg. I remember how its decorative,...
Marnie Hammar
- Aug 4, 2020
- 3 min
What You Need to Know About Superhero Capes
When my middle son was in preschool, one of the moms made a superhero cape and matching mask for each preschooler in the class. Every...
Marnie Hammar
- Jul 17, 2020
- 4 min
Lessons from an Ivy League Library
Once upon a time, I worked for an Ivy League university near Boston, where my job was to interview and write about students and faculty...
Marnie Hammar
- Jul 2, 2020
- 4 min
When God Shows Up in the Grocery Store Parking Lot
I saw her, but I didn’t really see her. I was loading my groceries into the back of my car, hurrying. It was almost dinner time and I...
Marnie Hammar
- Mar 1, 2020
- 10 min
Discerning the Voice of God: A Journey of Discovering that He Speaks
Photos by Pam Scott, @pjscott6 It’s a Thursday morning in August, 2006. I finish vacuuming, because when you’re selling a house, you...
Marnie Hammar
- Apr 30, 2019
- 3 min
We Can't Welcome Spring Without the Soil
It never fails. When spring offers its long-awaited warmer temps and my boys burst outside, slopping through the softening gunk and mud,...
Marnie Hammar
- Jan 9, 2019
- 4 min
New Year's Goal: Embrace Growth and Grace
Let’s talk about what just happened. Remember December? We taught our kids about Jesus' birth, we did the advent calendar, we bought the...
Marnie Hammar
- Oct 4, 2018
- 4 min
Confessions from Soccer Carpool
I’m nearly damaging my steering wheel with my anxious gripping, waiting for the red light to turn. My middle son is lacing his soccer...
Marnie Hammar
- Sep 15, 2018
- 3 min
I am not your Happy Maker
Summer closes on my 13th year as a mama. After I see my three boys off to school, and I’m left with my first moments of quiet since May...