Tag: faith
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3 Ways to Get Truth from Your Head to Your Heart
You might have heard the famous quote: “The longest journey you will ever take is the 18 inches from your head to your heart.” 18 inches doesn’t seem that far. We can cover that distance in one swift step with our feet. Many of our pets are about that length, and we can run our…
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5 Encouragements When All You Can Do Is Pray
I wrote the following post before COVID-19 was an issue. How much more real this is today, when we feel helpless in the face of suffering, unable to even extend a hug… If I’m honest, “just praying” makes me feel helpless. The frustration and despair in my heart when I’m told all I can do…
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Faith Fears and God’s Trustworthiness
What’s the scariest part of faith for you? If you’re not sure, think of the Bible stories you know. Which parts lead you to panic and protest, reacting with “but you wouldn’t ask that of me, right God?!” In different Bible studies and conversations with friends, I’ve head different responses to these sorts of questions….
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How God Uses Long-Distance Bible Study Fellowship
Seven years into our marriage, my husband and I have lived in four different states. We’ve been a part of five churches in that time, and had plenty of in-between, “church-seeking seasons”, too. With so many seasons of transition, participation in Bible study has looked a little different for me. Thankfully, God’s Word isn’t bound…
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Seeking God’s Will in Disappointment
I received my first official rejection email from a publisher. It would be nice if I could say that was years ago and God has since used books I authored to point people to himself. However, I only recently got the email. When the disappointment hit, I assumed: I’d close my laptop and stop writing…
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Raw Vs. Refined Knowledge
“I know where babies come from!” exclaimed the second grader as his classmates stared. A little girl had asked something related, and this boy could hardly raise his hand high enough. It was typical for him- he had an answer for everything at 7 years old. That being the case, we didn’t want to know…
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God Erases Our Regrets
I’m a know-needer. It’s not that I think I know it all, but that I want to know it all. The “what-ifs” of life are maddening to me. When they come up, I tend to identify every possibility and follow it to its end. At least that way I feel that I’ll know what to…
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Cling to Christ
Stepping into the airplane, I noticed a sign that made me laugh. The content wasn’t humorous. It wasn’t the design that cracked me up. There wasn’t really anything funny about the sign itself… But it was stuck with packaging tape…on to the side of a jet plane. Jet planes travel around 600-900 miles per hour….
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The Blessing of Endurance
Isn’t it interesting that we tend to count our blessings most when hard things happen? It is after a major accident that we are glad to be alive, or post-loss that we are grateful for those who truly love us. It seems that we need disruptions to remind us that life isn’t actually in our…
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Don’t Quit Praying When It’s “Over”
We pray before we eat. Before our days begin. Before we go to sleep. Often, we pray before big events and decisions. We pray as loved ones face difficulties. But we don’t have to stop there. We can keep praying after. God doesn’t say “cease praying” after the test results suggest the worst or the…