You are near, LORD, and all Your commands are true. — Psalm 119:151 I always used to ask God to be near, but recently I’ve tried to shift my prayers a little. I don’t think it’s wrong to ask Him to be near, and I certainly don’t think He gets annoyed if we do even though…
Cutting New Paths and Taking New Ground
Sometimes you just have to memorize and meditate on the good news loops out of obedience in order to start to make the correct synapses. Memorize it, and then repeat the good news to yourself over and over. I’ve realized that the three kinds of false belief—I can’t do this, I’m not enough, and nothing is ever…
Quit Negative Thinking and Preach to Yourself
Can I be honest for a second? It’s easy for me to get stuck in my head. I’ve always had a noisy mind, when I was little I couldn’t fall asleep unless I was lulled by the endless drone of talk radio. That whooshing and whirring, loud and purring brain of mine can feel like…
Comparison Distorts
A couple of years ago, I was asked to speak at a local outlet of a national conference. I gave a short talk on the civic engagement of millennial women and then joined a small group of attendees at one of the tables that peppered the room. Everyone had been asked to discuss the topic…
A Prayer to Renew Our Minds
In order to move forward in something new and different, we need to renew our minds. To do that, our minds need a new connection. Repentance can feel like a heavy word. Maybe it’s a new word altogether for you. But repentance is the way God uses to change us. Let me show you what…
Even When You Rock the Boat
Editor’s Note: It’s Sit & Listen Saturday at Devotionals Daily. Do you ever feel like you’re not enough… but also, too much? Sometimes even on the same day? You’re not alone. But in God’s eyes, you aren’t either one of those things – you’re fearfully and wonderfully made because you are made in God’s perfect…
Even If You Don’t Know a Lot About the Bible
Give us today our daily bread. — Matthew 6:11 My short-term memory and my long-term memory could not be more different. I can remember minute details of stuff that happened in the 1980’s. I’m one of those weirdos who has really distinct memories of things I shouldn’t be able to remember. I can describe houses…
Joy Doesn’t Come When the Sun Shines Brighter
There was a long time when I wanted to be anywhere but my real life. I lived for the next big life development that might make me feel content and comfortable in my skin. Maybe you can relate? During grade school I thought summer would bring happiness. When I was a teenager I assumed moving…
Even When You Feel Unseen
[Hagar] called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen Him who looks after me.” — Genesis 16:13 ESV If there is one person in Scripture I would not want to be, it’s Hagar. She was abused, unseen, and unwanted.…
Even When You’re Worn Out: Always Enough, Never Too Much
Even When You’re Worn Out by Jess The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. — Psalm 23:1-3 Shepherds are tough mamma-jammas. There are still shepherds today — did you know that? There aren’t too many in America,…