The Two Choices You Have Today
I recently returned from ten days in Peru on a mission trip with the student ministry at my church. Every day was different: street evangelism, building a house, playing with kids in the local community, encouraging the church there. We slept on the floor. We took cold showers. We stayed up too late. On mission…
Read MoreWho Is God to You, Really?
We all paint pictures of God. Over the years, we gather some information here, some scripture there, some thoughts from a pastor here and, subconsciously, we put them together and piece them in such a way that they make up our God. Our own little personal mosaics of who God is, to us. As we…
Read MoreThe Lie That You Can Always Be Better or More
Last Monday night I set my alarm for 5:30am to get up for a 6am workout class. My plan was to go to that class, then come home, shower, get ready, go to to work and then go to an afternoon meeting. This was my Tuesday plan. What happened instead? Well, Monday night I couldn’t sleep…
Read MoreTwo Things Daughters Need to Hear from their Fathers
A few weeks ago I was assigned to write a Father’s Day article about what daughters need to hear from their fathers as teens. Immediately I remembered this one time I did a Q&A session at a youth leaders’ conference. I and another preacher’s daughter answered a few questions about what it was like to…
Read MoreFeeling Bent. Feeling Broken.
Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but – I hope – into a better shape. – Charles Dickens I spent about 26 years of my life feeling pretty good about myself. I was always a…
Read MoreIf I Were a Spiritual Guide on The Bachelorette (Episode 3)
I’ve been a pretty faithful viewer of ABC’s The Bachelor and The Bachelorette since 2009, Jillian’s season. Some of you who have been reading this blog for a while might even remember The Bachelor Audition of 2011. Something I more often than not wish I could forget. I watch The Bachelor because I live in…
Read MoreWhen Church Is the Cause of Your Hustle
Last week I was feeling irritable. I was busy. I had a lot of things to do and places to be and I didn’t like it. My soul wanted to rest. You know that feeling? When you realize you crammed a few too many things onto your calendar for the week and you feel the…
Read MoreSix Tips for Navigating Your Twenties (+ a Giveaway!)
Winners of the All Groan Up giveaway are… Leslie Wood Beverly Vance Missy Mutchnik Send me your address via my contact page or PM. CONGRATULATIONS! A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about an article I had read that inspired me to embrace this unknown season of life I’m in, rather than run from it. I…
Read MoreWhen Life Is Shaky, Weird and Hard, But Good at the Same Time
I’ve moved a lot since college. Almost every year in fact. From apartment to house to condo to another house. It’s the typical transient life of the twenty-something, I suppose. Though I leave a lot behind when I move—clothes, old picture frames, dishes I don’t want anymore—one thing I’ve carried with me to…
Read MoreI'm Strong, But I'm Needy, Desperate and Fearful, Too
I have an irrational fear of being in weddings. I fainted during a ceremony a few years ago when I was a bridesmaid and ever since, the thought of being a bridesmaid brings back that blurry vision, wobbly knee feeling. It’s irrational, I know. The reason I fainted in the wedding a few years…
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