Have you ever been in a season where it feels like your life is a game of Whack-A-Mole? When it feels like as soon as you solve one problem, another arises. When you just can't seem to catch a break, and you feel like you keep getting hit with extra rough waves of life, just trying to stay afloat.
Read MoreBefore the term “foodie” was coined, I was one. Some of my fondest and earliest memories revolve around the kitchen. Dad taught me to shake hot sauce and red pepper flakes onto everything as a little girl–pizza, pasta, eggs, you name it. I'm forever marked by a love for spicy food, with a burnt esophagus (now healed!) to prove it. Mom made the best potato chip chicken. Over months, she'd store up bits and bobs of the crumbs that linger on the bottom of various, finished bags of kettle chips. Once the crumbs had collected, she'd dip cubes of chicken into egg wash and then into the salty potato chips, baking them until goldenly perfect. Always served with ranch dip–Hidden Valley to be exact.
Read MoreDuring this past year, I've found myself stirred from tranquil dreams, plunged into a world of fear, vulnerability, and encompassing darkness. The nightmares I've lived through feel akin to stories torn from news headlines or a spine-tingling Lifetime film. Yet, like an old friend, solace always waits for me within the timeworn pages of my Bible. Psalm 27, in particular, has been my beacon in those pitch-black hours. "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" These are the words of David - shepherd, conqueror of Goliath, fugitive from King Saul, flawed king of Israel who sinned, repented, and forever returned to God.
Read MoreYou may have learned that sheep are dumb, and when we are compared to sheep in Scripture, it is because we are dumb and helpless without a shepherd. But may I posit a different theory to you? Perhaps Scripture makes the comparison to show us that no matter how smart and capable we think we are, we still have limited knowledge in comparison to our limitless God.
Read MoreI recently went on my first flight since January 2019. I'd forgotten how humbling it is to be on an airplane, having zero control over your surroundings or circumstances. As I peered in wonder out of the tiny window of the plane, I found myself completely awestruck by the vastness of the sky. That two hour flight felt like an oasis—an escape from the realities of the suffering occurring below us. There was no access to news, social media, or the constant stream of information that bombards every second of my day to day life.
Read MorePerhaps you're enjoying this summer to its fullest, partaking in every seasonal joy possible, popsicle juice running down your arms while the kids play in the local splash pad as you flip through a fiction novel that transports you to the coast of Maine. However, it's also likely that where you're at this summer feels a whole lot more like overwhelm, discontentment, or dread with faint flickers of delight thrown in.
Read MorePraising God is the healthiest thing a human can do. Praise redirects our heads bent low over our phones, necks sore from checking task lists, bearing the weight of our adulting role. Praise invites us to open our chests and arms and faces to the uplifting lightness of praise.
Read MoreAt the ripe old age of 22, I packed my bags and moved to Chihuahua, Mexico. Yes, you read that right–I lived in the city of Chihuahua, which was in the state of Chihuahua. Just like New York, New York, but a little different. Seven years prior to this international move, I traveled to Mexico City on a mission trip with my local church. I fell in love with Mexican culture and told myself I was going to return one day and teach elementary school. This dream was pushed to the back burner when I arrived at the University of Georgia with a voracious appetite to do and see it all. However, when senior year rolled around, I read the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan in a Bible study with my pastor's wife.
Read MoreCan you think of the last time your soul longed for something so badly, but when you obtained it you were disappointed? Take a moment to think about that time, and journal about it.
Read MoreI don't know about you, but I can tend to swing to one of two extremes when I'm experiencing hardship of some kind: either brushing it aside as “not that big of a deal” in the desire to seem spiritually strong, or I can find myself wallowing in despair and self-pity (sometimes being flung from one extreme to the other a hundred times a day). But neither of these finds stable footing, because neither are living in light of reality. What makes God's power over our circumstances so significant is the fact that they truly are hard. And when our gaze is lifted to Him rather than whatever pain or sorrow we might be facing, we see our trial through the light of His goodness and love.
Read MoreSister, do you know the difference between guilt and shame? Guilt tells us that we did something wrong, and it leads us to make it right with God and those whom we have offended. Shame focuses on ourselves as a person and tells us that something is wrong with us. When we tumble down into the shame spiral, we are believing that our sin is too big for God to redeem and that we have messed up everything. But sister, nothing is too bad for God to redeem. No one is too far gone. We are new creations in Christ Jesus! (2 Cor. 5:17)
Read MoreHow can you stand when it feels like your world is falling apart?
The local donut shop on the corner goes out of business. Where are you supposed to get donuts now?
The internet goes out. There goes work for the day.
That celebrity you admired is taken to jail. How could she?
The dog tramps mud on the white carpet…again!
Read MoreI remember the first time I let myself ponder some of the psalms where David is so gut wrenchingly real that I found myself shocked they were in the Scriptures. It does not get more honest than Psalm 42 when it comes to despair, pain, and sadness in the human soul. If we can grab ahold of the truth in this psalm, it would drastically change our relationship with God.
Read MoreIt's easy to fall into the mindset that if only we had “insert x-y-z”, our lives would be perfect. What could go wrong with getting everything we want? Wouldn't we truly be at rest? Finally satisfied? We may feel even more certain of this if the things that we want aren't particularly exorbitant. What could go wrong with external securities?
Read MoreIf you have any sort of experience in planting a garden, you know that in the spring, you prepare the soil to plant the seed. Just like the soil of the earth needs to be prepared, the soil of our hearts need to be prepared as well. We want to prepare the soil so that the new seeds will take root, grow, blossom, and produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Read MoreWhen my husband unexpectedly lost his job almost two years ago, there was a feeling of shock and dismay. My expectation was that if God was going to allow something so horrible to happen, He was also going to come through in an incredible way for us by providing for our needs. In my line of thinking, this looked like a friend organizing a GoFundMe that raised a gajillion dollars! Or someone giving us a brand new minivan! Or vindication for my husband's mistreatment!
Read MoreNo matter the season, we must choose to be rooted. But the only roots that are deep enough to withstand the storms and trials of life are rooted in the finished work of Christ. This means we no longer lean on our own works or perfection like the world does. Instead we lean in and rest peacefully in the righteousness of God and choose to remember that He has declared us righteous through Christ's atonement for us.
Read MoreIn this week's psalm, we see the incredible worth God bestows upon us, simply because we are made in His image. Verses 3-4 say, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”
Read MoreIf I'm being honest, I've spent the majority of my life seeking love that feels secure. During my confusing, adolescent years, I wrestled with feelings of abandonment because my father chose addiction over our family when he decided to leave us. Down the road, I suffered the heartache of rejection from relationships that ended when I expected them to last forever. I even crumbled under fear of loving anyone again after my college boyfriend passed away tragically. I pondered the purpose of loving at all, because it seemed to always end in disappointment–either someone would remove themselves from the equation or life would snatch them away.
Read More
