“For His merciful kindness is great toward us…” (Psalms 117:2). His blue-gray eyes seesaw between the dirt path and my face as he walks away from the dugout. I watch his lips hesitate to curl, his guilt urging him to conceal joy.  The unexpected kindness from moments before confuses him. I confess—I don’t understand it either. My son’s defiant behavior earlier in the game should have left kindness out of the question and yet, it didn’t. My son received the game ball we both know he didn’t deserve and I’m stumped by the coach’s choice to give a reward to my son that he didn’t earn.  Kindness ..read more

No one will deny that parenting comes with challenges. Like me, you may have a child figuring out how to navigate a mental health issue. Or perhaps chronic illness, be it for yourself or your child, adds a layer of toughness to your life. There is, of course, the day to day trials to endure as well—bickering, tantrums, never-ending housework, questions about parenting moves we make. But here’s the thing I’m starting to understand about being a mom: The biggest parenting challenge we face is losing hope. Without hope, we allow our failures, our sin, and our inadequacy to break us from the ins ..read more

A broken branch the size of a small tree trunk plunges through the passenger window, aimed directly at his heart. The photo shares the story of a man killed in a horrific car crash. You cannot study the image of a great oak enveloping a truck, the tree’s appendages greedily searching for a life to take, and conclude anything other than a premature end. This picture of mortality, of a life removed by a part of nature usurping its power, epitomizes what I hate about conclusions. They are finite and closed minded. The end of all that is possible. But isn’t life full of possibilities? I believe ..read more

Who doesn’t look for a way out of suffering—be it from affliction, emotional pain, or mental anguish? Flight becomes the answer to long days that compound into years of struggle. But if no escape routes exists for the affliction bound to touch us all, we find a way to go on, don’t we? Our lives survive even when the grueling pace of day to day leaves us breathless. Our hearts beat despite how often they break. But our faith… Our faith can bear the burden of our suffering if we aren’t careful.Click To Tweet When hardship weighs us down, we seek to lessen our load. We haphazardly throw out wha ..read more

The school’s email shouldn’t have felt like a declaration of war, but it did. A string of statements catapulted me into attack mode. All of the ammunition residing inside me recklessly shot out of my mouth as I informed my husband of the assault. I responded before reflecting. I condemned rather than finding common ground. I loathed instead of loving. Why are these ways in which we react to differing opinions? Why don’t we always live peacefully? Doesn’t Ephesians 6:12 remind us that we aren’t warring flesh and blood, but rather Satan and demons? Living in peace with others is hard when our ..read more

Sometimes the Lord asks us to have bold faith when we least expect it, in the most inconvenient and undesirable of situations, doesn’t He? He might convict us to invite a coworker to church. Or perhaps He gives us the opportunity to share the gospel with a stranger. How do you respond when God asks you to do the unexpected and uncomfortable? Maybe you question God and then wait for Him to change His mind. Or ignore Him altogether. (Sigh.) I sure have. I cringe at the thought of all the lost people I’ve left stranded in despair because I’ve focused on myself instead of focusing on Jesus. Of ..read more

Dear mom of a difficult child: When you thought about what your life would look like with children, you didn’t include all this heartache, did you? You didn’t envision the never-ending tantrums or the unconsolable tears. Nor did you plan for the different ways you’d strive to tame your child or the neverending failure of tried and true parenting tactics. Did you imagine the millions of reasons your peaceful and perfect baby would give you to doubt yourself as a mom and woman? No, I’m sure the boundless love in your heart threw out those possibilities. But now as your dreams float away into ..read more

“But he that glorieth, let him glorieth in the Lord” (2 Corinthians 10:17, KJV). There comes a moment when we all contemplate how we got to this place, to this point in our earthly existence. We ask ourselves if our life has meaning… If we will leave a legacy… If we have found success… These questions fill my head a lot lately. More than I’d like. I feel like the sun trying to find its place in the sky. I rise with hope and promise, but then fall as my light diminishes into darkness, into nothingness. And there I wait, dull and distant, until the time to shine comes again. Maybe your life’s ..read more

About a month ago, I heard Lauren Daigle’s song, “You Say,” playing on the radio. Surprisingly, it wasn’t being broadcasted from my go-to music source, K-LOVE. Her voice sang from a secular station. God’s working, I thought. He’s using a once unknown Christian singer to spread His truth. I couldn’t help but think that Lauren Daigle found her purpose. Could I find my purpose and do something wonderful like her too? Do you, like me, find yourself questioning your purpose in life? What Keeps You from Your Purpose? Listening closely to the words of Lauren Daigle’s song gave me a reminder a ..read more

Living a life of humbleness isn’t easy, but God didn’t expect Christians to do it alone. He gave us the Holy Spirit to lead us. And as we stive to be humble, we reap the spiritual  benefits promised in the Bible. How many people were immersed in their own lives that they overlooked the birth of Jesus? Most people, I suppose. The Bible doesn’t provide an overwhelming list of visitors to our humble King. It makes me think about what I’m sure we’re all guilty of doing:   Sometimes we’re too occupied trying to obtain what we think we deserve that we miss accepting what we ..read more