I held my passport in my hand, still shiny and nearly brand-new. I’d only garnered two stamps from trips to Canada and the Dominican Republic. This time I was crossing larger seas into a continent I imagined would be a place of great tension and conflict for me. For years, I had said no to…
It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way: Dust
I grabbed my chest while tears slipped down my cheeks in an unending stream. The pain in my heart wasn’t physical. But the stabbing emotional hurt was so intense I could hardly breathe. My hands were shaking. My eyes were wide with fear. My mouth felt paralyzed. My life had gone from feeling full and…
You’re Invited to the It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way Online Bible Study
In their hearts people plan their way, but the Lord directs their steps. — Proverbs 16:9 Sometimes to get your life back, you have to face the death of what you thought your life would look like. ~ Lysa TerKeurst Have you ever looked at your life in disappointment, heartbreak, deep loss, or just frustration…
I’d Like to Speak to the Manager About Myself
My friend Jen and I were hiking on a local trail last weekend, which is currently configured into a one-way loop in an effort to help people socially distance while enjoying nature. The trail was crowded, and every five minutes of so, we had to step into the brush to let a mountain-biker go by.…
Ready for Anything: How to Prep for Anything Without Getting Overwhelmed
If you are anything like me, when you first heard about the concept of prepping, you became overwhelmed just thinking about it. You’ve seen the commercials, looked at the pamphlets, and maybe even attended a meeting where they talked about being prepared for a fire/flood/earthquake/tornado (fill in the blank, depending on where you live and…
Summer Anxiety: Embrace the Bathing Suit
Laying Down My Anxiety Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? — Matthew 6:25 There is one tiny thing I don’t like about summer: I’m not wild about swimsuits. It’s…
Relentless: A Prison
A God who is with you in your doubt ~ John Flavel, Late minister of the Gospel at Dartmouth It was my third trip to the airport in four days. And I had at least a half dozen more coming up in the days to follow. The day after traveling home from a conference and…
Someone Press The Refresh Button
I don’t know about you. But as the world has been under house arrest, when we have all been grounded to our bedrooms by the universe, I begin to lack any sense of excitement. I guess that was the point of being grounded when we were children. To think about what we have done. To…
The Key to a Life Full of Abundance and Surprise and Peace
Every time I looked at my left hand, it felt empty without that beautiful diamond ring we had picked out. I felt as if I had nothing left. God had stripped away the very thing I had been working so hard for. We were almost there. We had almost made it. And then it was…
Tailor Made: The Authentic You
The authentic self is soul made visible. — Sarah Ban Breathnach 1 We are the most at ease when no one is watching. We are free to be ourselves and act the way we feel at the moment when no one is there to judge us. When I took my daughter, Holly, to her first…