Financial crisis. Health issues. Relationship struggles. Hard seasons come for all of us. And sometimes it just feels like we're never going to make it. I've been there ... and there's a good chance I'll be there again at some point. Life is full of hard days, difficult seasons. Sometimes we can see them coming. We can brace ourselves for the storm. But other times, we're blindsided, caught totally unaware. We know we'll survive ... it's not that we think the storms will completely ... [Read More]
Light in the Dark Places
Sometimes we share the darkest parts of our lives so others can have light in their dark places. Light in the dark places. You know what I mean, right? The dark places. I so rarely speak of mine. There are a million reasons why and some of them might even have a little bit of merit. But really, it is simply this—I don't like to go back there. Light in the Dark Places I suppose I could blame it on being a pastor's kid and always feeling the weight of expectation. Or I could say it's ... [Read More]
Stories Matter … Tell Yours
Stories matter. When my husband asked me to share a part of my story for a night of worship at our church on Easter, I didn't want to do it. I didn't want to recall the hard and sinful places I'd been. I didn't want to reopen the scarred over cuts. I didn't want to remember the hopelessness. I didn't want to revisit the brokenness and sinfulness. The truth is, I wanted to stay right here, where I am now. I want you to see me the way I am now—the Bible teacher, the wife and mom, the ... [Read More]
Do you really believe God is a good, good Father?
You've heard the song, right? Just in case you haven't (or you're like me and LOVE it), here you go ... Do you really believe God is a good, good Father? He is. He can't NOT be. It's inherent in His character to be truly good, in fact, He alone is the embodiment of good. As the song says, "It's who You are, it's who You are, it's who You are." This morning I read these verses: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone ... [Read More]
What if … We Mess Everything Up
Only a few posts left in the "What if ... 10 ways to live well in today's world" series. It's funny, when I started planning it, I had no idea how chaotic June was going to be. I knew we had a few things on the calendar but I had no idea the level of craziness headed my direction. But, as God is prone to do, He has used each of these posts to point me back to Him and to His Word. I hope He is doing the same for you. In case you've missed any of the posts, here is a recap: What if we do ... [Read More]
Jesus Has Overcome!
I've started and stopped this post several times. What words could I ever string together to explain what the last year has been like. One year ago today I got up like every other Sunday morning and headed to worship with my church family. But by the end of the day I was in the cardiac care unit at a local hospital with a 2-1/2 inch stent. Who could ever have guessed a 42-year-old healthy woman with no risk factors would have had a major heart attack ... while singing with the choir at ... [Read More]
