“Have you seen my keys, mom?”  My normally chill 18-year-old son fumbled through my bathroom cabinets. I folded the corner page of the new book I was reading, Healing Rain, to help him mentally retrace his steps. My car was the last place he had them. The recurring theme of Sue Detweiler’s book —unlocking the keys to find wholeness for your mind, body, and heart by immersing yourself in Christ’s love, hit home. My broken heart searches for comfort, like hunting for lost keys. The cover of the book shows cupped hands collecting rain—God showering his love upon us. And I realize I’ve allow ..read more

How do you love someone well? How do you walk in the Spirit and not in your flesh?  Did you know that when you become a Christian, you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit? God’s presence lives within every believer and empowers Christians to love others well.  Because God is love, and Christians have God’s presence living inside them (the Holy Spirit), the power to exercise love comes from the Holy Spirit. This knowledge is so liberating! It means I can stop beating myself up for my shortcomings and have hope that Jesus will help me love others when I yield to the work of the Holy S ..read more

Stuff I’d Only Tell God by Jennifer Dukes Lee is a guided journal designed to help you be ruthlessly honest so you can see the real you hiding behind layers of self-protection. This book guides readers with questions, lists, charts, and illustrations to discover who you are and how much God loves you. To start, Lee encourages readers to be honest and compassionate with themselves. The journal has seven sections. Each section takes you on a journey through your past, present, or future. I loved the clever and creative activities to help you think about your life. Some of my favorite ones were ..read more

In Seven Secrets of the Spirit-Filled Life, author and theologian Jack Levison shares how to have a deeper, more powerful relationship with the Spirit. These seven secrets are outlined as sections in the book, with seven chapters in each part. Discover the Holy Spirit in Your Everyday Life Discover How the Bible Nourishes the Spirit-Filled Life Discover The Power of the Holy Spirit Alongside Others Discover The Energy of the Holy Spirit in You Discover The Holy Spirit in the Wilderness Discover How The Holy Spirit Transforms Our World Discover How to Help Others Experience The Holy Spirit ..read more

The Words We Lost by Nicole Deese draws you into the life of Ingrid Erikson, an editor mourning the loss of her best friend and famous client, Cece. Ingrid struggles to move forward in life, also still grieving her father’s death and grappling with resentment towards the man she loves and blames for it, who happens to be Cece’s cousin. When Ingrid’s boss threatens to fire her unless she finds Cece’s last manuscript, Ingrid is forced back into the world of her ex-boyfriend, Joel, to fulfill Cece’s final request. Here Ingrid learns to face her inner turmoil as she not only searches for Cece’s l ..read more

Take Every Thought Captive by Kelly Balarie helps readers exchange lies of the enemy for the mind of Christ. This book gives hands-on suggestions for changing self-defeating thoughts in order to transform the way you think. The writing is heartfelt and honest and succeeds at showing how to take powerful biblical truths to heart in order to train our thoughts and take them captive. The book is divided into three parts: 1. Arm Up For Battle 2. Be Strong of Heart, Be Strong of Mind 3. Start Now: Take Every Thought Captive. Each chapter ends with a declaration, homework, and a prayer. The second ..read more

I’m excited to share a guest post from an author whose love for the Lord truly inspires me. I’ve been blessed to have been on her launch teams for Fear Fighting and Battle Ready. Today she’s sharing about a topic I’m sure we can all relate to. How do you think straight when people treat you wrong? “I’m sorry.”  There, I said it! It felt good to finally get those two words off my chest. It meant I could rest. I’d done my part. The person looked back at me and muttered, “I forgive you.” But, soon, their actions spoke a different story.  Every time I asked a question their respons ..read more

The Bible says Jesus was tempted in every way we are. Does this mean he was also tempted to fear? “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15).  Jesus is fully God and fully human (Colossians 2:9, John 1:14, 1 Timothy 2:5). Honestly, I’ve always struggled to picture Jesus as fully human. I wonder if any of you have, too? It’s hard for me to conceptualize the humanity of Jesus because it feels like taking away some of Christ’s perfection, strength, and ..read more

Have you ever thought of yourself as an influencer? The dictionary defines an influencer as “a person who can influence potential buyers of a product or service by promoting or recommending the items on social media.” A quick google search says, “Influencers have specialized knowledge, authority, or insight into a specific subject. Their pre-existing presence in a niche makes them a useful launching pad for brands searching for credibility.” #1: Micro-influencers. The number of followers: 5,000 — 100,000. … #2: Mid-tier influencers. The number of followers: 100,000 — 500,000. … #3: Macro-inf ..read more

In Faith, Doubt, and God’s Mysterious Timing, Laurie Polich Short shares 30 biblical insights about how God works. Her reflections on each passage are refreshing and helped me better understand timeless Bible stories I’ve heard since childhood. Each chapter explores three passages in the Bible that equip us to trust God when we don’t know what’s happening in our life. Threaded throughout the book, readers discover the main theme— how we, too, can live our way into knowing instead of knowing our way into living. This book contains a plethora of helpful quotes! The author does an amazing job g ..read more