Surely our family is not the only one to experience an unexpected sickness, a discouraging diagnosis, or a disappointing change of plans during summer. Right? As much as we love summertime for making memories, finding rest, and seeking adventure, we equally feel the sting of disappointment when things don't go as planned.
So, I recorded my own thoughts to share with you in hopes that they bring you joy amidst your own disappointments this summer and always.
Read MoreOur family returned to Texas this week and with it returned to the reality and burden of COVID-19 as Texas case numbers rise and hospital occupancy falls.
As I give my children updated reminders on mask wearing, hand washing and distance making, I am also reminded that we fight against an even more dangerous enemy. The enemy that lies within.
Read MoreOn a recent hike the questions kept coming. We sat as a family admiring the strength of this hardened magma and all I could think about is that this is the kind of foundation I want my life built upon.
This is the kind of foundation I want my kids to build their lives upon: a foundation that stands firm even when the sun is beating incessantly down upon their weary journeys. The kind of foundation that can still support when every comfort is stripped, every rational thought taken, every dollar lost. The kind of foundation that withstands erosion from the harshest storm.
Read MoreAfter feeling burdened this week for the growing needs around me, I was reminded that even while bearing one another’s burdens we have an opportunity to cast our cares on One who promises to carry them for us.
Anyone who has gone fishing can testify that the art of casting is a tricky skill to master and can threaten to steal the joy of the entire journey.
May I encourage you to experience the sustaining power of God by casting your burdens on the One who can carry them? What does it look like for you to cast more and carry less?
Read more here.
Read MoreHow long will it be this way?
The undefined timetable of this life we have come to know over the past few months is what stings the most. How long will we fear connection, how long will the days be filled with increasing unknowns or how long will our prayers hang without clear answers?
If there ever has been a time to turn our eyes to a reality beyond our day to day it is now.
Read MoreLooking for comfort too? I read in Psalm 119: 50 that our comfort in times of affliction come through his promises. It helped my heart to remember some of his promises and I pray they encourage you too.
Read MoreSo cliché, this phrase tends to lose significance.
However, during this season more than any other, I talk through what it looks like to view the very act of breathing as the miracle that it is. We are all invited to breathe differently. Here I explain what that can look like for you and for me.
Read MoreThese unprecedented times overwhelmingly remind us that no matter where you live or what your background, you will feel sacrifice and suffering in some way. Suffering is a universal state that is common to humanity and was, no doubt, before any Coronavirus entered the scene.
Here I share three specific and reassuring comforts that come from finding shelter in the person of Jesus. I pray these encourage your heart and strengthen your trust in the refuge that is always available to you.
Read MoreOver a month ago as I planned my intentions for the weeks leading up to Easter, this week was a time I wanted to focus on memorizing scripture. This also happens to be the week that I find myself waking up at 4am consistently filled with swirling anxious thoughts. Maybe I am not alone.
In this post, I reflect on Psalm 119 and am reminded to treasure the word of God in my heart to lead us through the battles ahead.
Maybe you will find that anchor your heart is longing for in this season and begin to hide it in your heart for the journey.
Read MoreAt a time when our calendar is clear, our pantry is stocked (for now) and our fears heightened, how we posture our hearts will determine what we model for those around us. How we posture our hearts will reveal who or what we are trusting in to get us through. For me, I am intentionally pursuing the discipline of remaining in a posture of prayer, and invite you to join me.
Here are a few resources that I am using to deepen my prayer life and thought I’d share.
Read MoreWhile not true for everyone, many of us live with enough resources to meet our own daily needs while satisfying our own bellies and pursuing our own daily pleasures.
This question haunted me one day: Could it be that one of the main reasons we don’t hunger after something greater is because we are so easily stuffed full with lesser things? Here I discuss what it would look like to say no to something in order to say yes to the One who truly satisfies.
Read MoreThis one truth informs the way I view both celebration and grief, success and failure, acts of love and acts of hatred. The tension that hangs in between each one of those delicate emotions is real and tangible. Even still, what anchors each one of us at our core will determine the way we each respond when they come.
And we know they will come.
Read MoreI just returned from an incredibly dreamy, indulgent ten-day trip around France with my husband to celebrate 40 years of life and 15 years together, and then I came home. So, now what?
Have you ever explored the unceasing pleasures that can be found in someone who transcends the fleeting pleasures of earth? As beautiful and lovely and amazing as the things we experience here and now, there is someone infinitely more beautiful and lovely that never ceases.
Read MoreHow a cooking class preparing cilantro turned into a life lesson on freedom. The freedom that comes from sharing truth is life-changing for those on the receiving end. I began to think of the life-changing freedom that comes when we believe Jesus really is who he says he is and we are who he says we are.
Read MoreNothing in life really prepares you for those goodbye moments, even the moments themselves, and yet they are inevitable for all of us. We are left with the tension of how to live in the joy of today but with a very present and real sadness of the remaining void. But, there is One who never changes.
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