I recently felt the familiar rise of anxiety. Tension crawling up the back up my neck. Mind racing. Hands slightly shaky. I couldn’t catch a deep breath no matter how much air I filled my lungs with. I don’t know if you’ve ever had this experience, but it’s like coffee jitters in your heart even when there’s zero caffeine pulsing through your ...
Taste and see that the Lord is good. Psalm 34:8 (CSB) I've been looking for goodness — for that which is sweet, good for the soul, joyful, and light — for God's goodness in everyday, ordinary places. In a new month of the first new year of a new decade, with days full of possibilities and hope, it only seems right to be on the lookout for ...
We always thank God for all of you, making mention of you constantly in our prayers. We recall, in the presence of our God and Father, your work produced by faith, your labor motivated by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 (CSB) All of 1 Thessalonians 1 is absolutely beautiful. I read it ...
Most nights I lay awake in bed rehearsing different conversations I had throughout the day. I worry if I said or did the right thing. I calculate and rethink what I should or could have done. I wonder why someone didn’t text back. I toss and turn making plans to fix things tomorrow. Most mornings, my mind is running even before I open my eyes. ...
Have you ever wrestled in your faith, or struggled with doubt or unbelief? I have. I thought I was the only one, but I was wrong -- there are many of us. Thankfully, God's faithfulness is greater than our questions. His grace is SO amazing, He even has a plan for our doubt. God is for us in our wandering. He's working all things together for good. ...
I think one of the greatest misconceptions I have about Jesus is remembering He was fully human. I have no problem remembering He’s fully God — the walking on water sort of solidified that for me — but I have trouble believing that during His time on Earth, He felt every bit of human as I do on a regular basis. Every bit? Every sharp shard of ...
We’re sitting in the glow of neon, the golden arches casting pale yellow and red on the wet asphalt where we’re parked. I’m sipping iced tea even though it’s cold, and we’re clutched by winter's deep spell, flurries scattering around outside haphazardly lacking the stamina to collect themselves on the ground. The windshield wiper swipes at them ...
It is a strange and unsettling thing being a danger to society. I went for a walk and swooped to avoid a woman walking her dog. I crossed the street when a man came toward me, pushing his toddler on a tricycle. The little girl waved and said, “Hi!” and I stepped even further away. I walked down the center of streets, to keep my body as far from ...
I lost a little girl once. When she was ten, she wore knee-length Jams. If you haven’t heard of them, be thankful. They were shorts that came in blinding colors, covered with a confusing assortment of patterns and prints. Her favorite pair was red, covered with yellow skateboards and pink triangles. She liked to try to make her parents laugh ...
Over one-third of the book of Psalms are filled with psalms of lament, crying out to God to help us. In fact, the word lament connotes raw, honest emotion with no pretense and literally means "to tear the hair and beat the breast." When you lament you let it all out; you wail from a deep, guttural place. When I think of lament, I can't help but ...
