jesus
-
On Decluttering Hope
I spent the bulk of my morning on Monday decluttering many spaces in my home. I combed through my own closet and got rid of clothing that I had not worn over the winter. I dug out countless “treasures” (translated mostly junky items) from my younger boys’ room. I cleaned out the linen closet. I Continue reading
-
Lessons In the Third Year
As I wrote last week, this past Sunday would have been Ezra’s 21st birthday. I had hoped with it being the third birthday we have endured without him, it would have been a bit easier. In some ways, it was. In other ways, days of significance still have a raw, pain-filled nature to them. I Continue reading
-
The Good We Cannot See
We long to see redemption in our stories. We long to understand what God is up to; how he uses pain for our good and his glory. God has promised he will work all things for good for those who love him and there are times that God, in his kindness, allows a glimpse of Continue reading
-
Joy and Weeping
I recently had a conversation with someone about loss and grief. In the conversation, he asked me, “Do you feel like you have joy?” I paused before I answered and asked if he could clarify what he meant by joy. Depending on how he defined joy, it would dramatically affect the answer I gave. His Continue reading
-
Feeling Passed By
A piece of grieving that I did not anticipate are the moments when jealousy pops its ugly head into the picture. It’s hard. When I hear that someone prayed something I too have prayed and God’s answer was, “yes” to them, yet I received a “no” from God, it’s hard. It does not diminish my Continue reading
-
Questions For God
I have found that a very real and oftentimes difficult piece of faith is what to do when I have questions about God’s plan. Scripture is clear that questioning God is sin and produces bad fruit. It can lead to the derailing of faith if the questions we have about God are not answered by Continue reading
-
Missed Miracles
When I was younger, my parents had a neighbor who faced an unexpected terminal illness. She was a young mom, previously very healthy and suddenly, she was sick and dying. I prayed and prayed for her, pleading with God to heal her. Wouldn’t it bring him the most glory to bring her back to health? Continue reading
-
Restoration
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the concept of restoration. I think for me, I am realizing that there are a lot of ideas and words that float around Christian sub-culture that sound really amazing, but when I sit down and really chew on what the ideas mean, I realize I can’t actually put Continue reading
-
Patient With Our Doubt
Doubt is a very real, and not always talked about, part of the Christian life. To be a believer in Jesus means to learn to navigate the doubts that come with it. The Bible says that there is an enemy, Satan, whose only goal is to, “steal, kill and destroy” (John 10:10). His only aim Continue reading
-
There Is No Formula
When I was in my early 20’s, anxiety became a very real and painful part of my story. I accumulated years of sleepless nights as panic attacks would haunt me in the dark. I cannot count the number of times I prayed Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer Continue reading
Faithful Paradox 