Standing in my boyfriend's kitchen, I looked to see what time it was. Panic rushed over me when I realized I had five minutes to get home for curfew, and two many miles between his house and mine to make it. Mom had said if I missed curfew again, she would ground me for a month. I ran to my car and raced the clock to get home. Hands gripping the ...
I stood in front of my bathroom mirror, squinting from the lights above while also trying to open my eyelids so I could put mascara on my lashes. My mouth opened, too, almost instinctively. And I wondered why opening my mouth helped open my eyes. It didn’t make sense, and neither did the way I was feeling. I had been struggling with self-doubt and ...
Driving under a canopy of oak trees, I watched shadows dance with sunshine in the street. Their rhythm was slow and easy, calm and peaceful. I felt the opposite. My pace had been hurried; my thoughts filled with angst and worry. Tasks outnumbered time, yet here I was avoiding being alone with myself at the library. I had planned to be working ...
It’s usually very subtle. I’ll be thinking about something I want to do or something I sense God calling me to, and all of the sudden this nauseating sense of insecurity will come over me. Out of the blue, uncertainty will sneak up on me and whisper: You can’t do that. You’re not good enough or competent enough. And many times I’ve gone along ...
I watched his shoulders as he walked up the mountain through the fog, hoping his posture would tell me how he was feeling. Raindrops trickled down his suit coat, and I thought to myself, I will never forget watching my son climb this muddy mountain to wait for his bride. Josh and Brandi had spent weeks looking for the perfect setting for an ...
For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. (Zephaniah 3:17 NLT) Startled by the silence, I sat up in bed so I could see the neon red lights that told me it was three in the morning, time to feed ...
It was a source she’d come to depend on. A place she went to get her needs met, but it was never enough. Every day she came back for more. Filling her jar with water, the woman looked up and heard the man asking her for a drink. Then He offered her something in return: living water. Unlike the water she came to get that day, He said this water ...
" No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or abandon you. Be strong and courageous, for you will distribute the land I swore to their fathers to give them as an inheritance." Joshua 1:5-6, CSB How In The World Am I Going to Do This? Has God ever called you ...
How often do you ask yourself, “What’s wrong with me?” It’s a question I’ve asked myself way too many times: when I forget something important, when I’m late for a meeting, lose my keys, miss deadlines or walk into a room in my house and can’t remember why I went there. And every time I ask, “What’s wrong with me?” I actually tell ...
As we drove home from a weekend away in the mountains, I felt a heavy sense of dread and sadness. Laying my head back on my seat, I told my husband, JJ, "I don't want to go home." The stress and strain of countless commitments at home and at work were taking a toll on me. If only I could return to that little mountain town where no one knew me ...
