When I’m walking through a hard season in my life, facing battles and trials of all kinds, offering God a sacrifice of praise isn’t usually the first thought on my mind. In fact, my prayers are often focused on my needs, asking God for help.  While we’re told that God hears our prayers and will […]

Hearing voices, seeing visions, words that leap off the pages of the Bible. Does God really speak in such real, tangible ways? Nudges, feelings in your heart, the sense of something larger. Are these from God or just tricks our mind plays? Are those who claim to hear from God a bit crazy or is […]

As the school year drew to a close and the kids brought home their work from the year, I reflected on the progress they’d each made over the year. Looking through their notebooks, the improvements from the first of the year to the end were marked. Even the kids readily recognized the differences. It’s a […]

Why do we resist stillness with God? A question we talked about at the “Be Still” conference last weekend. A question I wrote for the small group discussions. A question I thought I’d addressed in my own life as I’ve focused on incorporating stillness and prayer into the rhythm of my life. Yet, just days after returning […]

Webster’s Dictionary defines COMMUNITY as “a unified body of individuals.” It goes on to give examples that community could be people who live in close geographic proximity, people with common interests or beliefs, or people with a common heritage or history. Community is also defined a joint ownership or participation, a common character or likeness, and […]

I’d prepared for weeks, sending out invitations, planning menus, cooking food, cleaning the house, and selecting serving dishes and decorations. I was looking forward to hosting this party, one of the first in our new house.  When the guests arrived, though, I was still in my hectic preparation mode. I couldn’t seem to shake off […]

I’d just spoken and shared my testimony for the first time to a room of a hundred women. I’d been planning this conference – and my opening night talk – for months. Leading this conference had been quite a challenge, way out of my comfort zone, and had been quite an inner struggle to get […]

We hear that we should pray to God and believe he is listening and will answer our prayers, but many days that’s easier said than done. Some days prayer feels like you’re talking to the wall. You’ve prayed the same prayer over and over for days, months, even years, and still no response. Is God […]

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The words keep rolling around and around in my head. Words I can’t shake. Words that stir my heart. Words that at the same time give me courage and hope, yet also make me wonder if I have that kind of faith. Words that call me to dig deep and TRUST GOD. Call it a […]

How fully are you participating in Christian community? We’ve been talking this week about the characteristics of Christian community, ways you can add these elements of these to your existing communities and why it’s important to have a Christian community. Today is a personal challenge. Are you fully participating in your community? Are there any […]

We’ve been playing a lot of hide and seek at my house lately.  My four-year old son Ryan insists on playing every night at bedtime.  While I’m downstairs getting his bedtime snack, he hides.  When I come back to his room, I have to find him.  The thing is, he’s always in the same hiding […]

Rocking, rocking, rocking. Trying to get my baby boy to go to sleep. Enjoying the quiet darkness of his room, the steady comfort of the rocking, the sweet baby in my arms. I let my mind empty. Let go of all the to-dos and issues from the day. That’s when I hear the voice. The still, […]

I’d been running a million miles an hour for months and my tank was dangerously close to empty. Work had been busy and stressful. The demands at home intense, leaving me short on patience with the kids and my husband. I hadn’t stepped into silence and solitude in months. As my birthday approached, I knew […]