Our deepest friendships, the one's we have with the women who speak into our lives the most, should reflect the heart of Christ. He is very intentional about the people He puts in our lives to do so. It's like the old song says, "some are silver and the other gold", meaning, the friends you come across during your lifetime who are rooted in Christ are valuable, whether for that specific season or for a lifetime.
Read MoreGod has been doing a major construction job in my heart lately. Like faulty wiring, He is ripping out bad theology. Like a room with few windows, He is tearing down my walls so that His light will flood my soul and fill me with truth. The tools He is using to rebuild me are many: Matthew and our marriage, His Word and various studies He has put in front of me, as well as pastors, local and far away.
Read MoreMary had plenty of opportunities to feel abandoned by God, to ask Him to pick someone else, to lament her situation, or to give up entirely, but she didn't. She couldn't have known just how difficult the road would be when she said YES to God's call, but she had to have known that life as she knew it would be over. She had to have known EVERYTHING would change and she said YES anyway. I have been feeling convicted lately about my YES. My "yes'es" aren't nearly as bold as Mary's was. Mine are more like, "Ok, I guess, if it doesn't force me out of my comfort zone or cause me to suffer in any way." Ugh. How embarrassing to admit.
Read MoreThere is NOTHING more beautiful to me than sitting in a room together, opening up the Word, highlighting verses that jump out, asking questions about the ones that confuse, & digging for more info on Jesus who loves us, mess included.
Read MoreDear Jesus, Who am I really? What do you see in me that you would move heaven and earth to capture my heart? My life feels like a collection of other people's expectations and disappointments. I do not even know anymore who I truly am. Reveal to me my true identity, my true place in Your story. Give me grace to hear your voice; shut out all other voices, and let me hear from you alone. I ask this in your name. Amen. -John Eldredge
Read MoreY'all, I have GOT to share this post with you. It's not super deep or anything, but it is one of the more hilarious mornings of my life. For two years after college I lived in the sweetest house on West King street and we made too many memories there to share here, but this saga is worth sharing. Jill and I were the only ones in the house over Christmas break in December of 2011 when we were over taken by mice....
Read MoreThe unread books on my shelves, in my Kindle, and on my Amazon wish list were beginning to pile up in embarrassing numbers.
I need y'all to hold me accountable to my commitment of reading at least 3 books a month!
There hasn't always been a word, I haven't always intentionally sought one out, they more or less come and go on their own, finding me when the time is right. But this year, I sought my word purposefully and with an open mind. As I prayed and reflected over the last year of my life, the most impactful of my almost 28 years thus far, similar themes and feelings became obvious to me. It was the last word I scribbled in a long list of many others and once I wrote it down, it made total sense.
Read MoreA reflection on my love for mornings.
Written in August of 2012
That's one of the most attractive characteristics of Christ to me.
There is no broken place of mine that He doesn't see.
Not only does He see those pieces, He tenderly repairs them.
In His timing, of course, but that is so much better than clinging to those piercing shards that re-wound us time and again.
But that part, the healing part, it is SO important.
We don't have to remain broken.
In fact, we shouldn't.