The cold wore my emotions and nerves thin. The dense grey skies defined my mental state most days. February became the most difficult month of the year for me by far.
In order to get through the never-ending days, I would pour every ounce of energy into creative outlets within those walls for fun. I recently heard the term “chase the fun”, and I can’t think of a better goal in February. How can you chase the fun? Here I share a few of my favorite ideas.
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 MoreI smiled, but deep in my heart I felt the same way. I minimized my role. I didn’t feel like I had anything of value to contribute.
There are many areas where we can feel on the sidelines watching every one else move forward with a life we think will be fulfilling. If you've ever struggled to feel significant in the role that you have, then it's time to exchange it for a new title. May I encourage you to exchange it for this one?
Read MoreThis one line, sung not stated, catapults me back to one of my favorite childhood TV shows.
With one lyrical line sung to a catchy tune, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” sent influential messages from Mr. Fred Rogers, who lived out of what he believed. What we believe informs the kind of neighbor we are to those God has placed in our lives. Here I share real stories from NYC to Texas and encourage you to think about how real needs can usher us into real relationships.
Read MoreWhen the celebrations are cancelled and the awards kept in boxes, how do we measure the value of our days? How do we help our children measure the countless hours of study, words read or papers written without a ceremony, designation or distinguishing letters accompanying your name?
The quarantine season has left us all with a myriad of questions, not the least of which begs us to analyze the way we have become accustomed to stewarding our days.
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 MoreThe date keeps shifting. The virus keeps spreading. The uncertainties keep swirling.
And so we linger.
We have the opportunity to savor the gift of lingering long this week. Care to join 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 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 Wednesday is known as Ash Wednesday in many Christian denominations, kicking off 40 days of somber reflection and heart preparation for Easter. This is a practice I did not grow up with, but have grown to deeply appreciate. Before we celebrate the risen Christ at Easter, we take this time to pause and remember what he came to save us from.
Maybe, for some, all of this is new and you aren’t sure what to make of it. Start here.
Read MoreWhen we are faced with unanswered questions, there is something in us that drives our desire to keep searching. We want answers or at least signs that whatever we are doing is working. We want to see fruit.
In an effort to find some relief for my daughter’s migraines, we began to consider the food we were eating. You don’t need me to be one more person to tell you that what we eat matters, but what is more often forgotten is the importance of the soil. It is the soil in which the food grows that determines the quality of nutrients you receive.
Is there fruit in your life that you desire? There are ways to actively cultivate healthier soil, so that our heart posture remains teachable, humble, and fertile for growth.
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 MoreThis week marks the birthday of someone I’ve loved for what feels like my whole life and lost to cancer over a year ago. On the days that are trying, discouraging and difficult, I see her picture on my desk, and it is a visible and tangible reminder that it is a gift to be able to work hard. It is a privilege to sweat.
For those who are not able to move freely or for those who are no longer with us, let’s consider the sweat, the perseverance and the work worth it. Count it all a privilege.
Read More“All things on earth need to be renewed. No created thing continues by itself…” - Charles Spurgeon
I am writing goals, setting plans and am filled with the excitement of a new year, but I am also reminded that what I need even more is ‘reNEWal’. Renewing my mind by focusing on the things of God, not man. Renewing my body with things that fuel it well to run the race. Renewing my soul by asking myself often, how can I wait well?
Read MoreTurning 41 and entering a new decade has me thinking through the process of aging more than ever before. I am pretty sure I’m not alone , even if you find yourself in a different decade. As we begin a new year with new perspective, new rhythms and new goals, it is critically important to anchor our hearts in truth and remind ourselves about lasting renewal so that we can continue on this journey together.
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 MoreEach year after we say goodbye to the most life-giving two weeks of our year in Colorado, I ask myself the same question on our drive back to Texas: How can I add more of our rhythms at the cabin into our life rhythms at home?
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.
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