For something to sink into my brain I have to visualize it in pretty simplistic terms. Just how I roll. So when I am talking about Umbrella Prayers I have this visual in my head of holding up an umbrella. The umbrella represents God and who he is. An attribute of God. I focus my thoughts and praise on God and who He is. Our God is vast according to scripture. There are so ... Read More »
God
Powerful words to frame our circumstances
This spoken from a friend Mama whose little girl has CF and is fighting for her life right now. This spoken from Jesus to his Father as he faced death by crucifixion. These are hard words to utter sometimes. Because God's will isn't always what we desire or want. We can't see the whole picture and understand his ways and so life just won't always make sense to us. But the ... Read More »
Faith isn’t enough
Faith isn't enough. Ya'll I didn't say it. God did in a powerful set of verses in Corinthians. Here's the gist: We can preach like Billy Graham. Dig wells in Africa. Work like crazy to rescue sex trafficking victims. Speak in tongues. Be a martyr. Give away everything we own to the poor. And have the kind of faith that moves mountains. But...... BUT if we don't have love ... Read More »
3 ways to overcome a fear of praying out loud
Okay let's get super real here and confess that sometimes praying out loud can be intimidating even if you've been attending church forever. It doesn't have to be but we start overthinking the process of talking to God in front of others and fear we can mess it up. We fear what we say might not be the right thing or good enough. Or maybe we think we don't have a place in ... Read More »
Summer is almost here – don’t ditch your Bible!
For some of us Summer IS here already - like for our kids. Graduation was Friday night and we're saying Goodbye to the school year. But I know some of you still have a few more weeks of school. And I solemnly pray for your soul as you enter the insane zone or as Jenn Hatmaker affectionally calls it: "The end of the year screw-its." I don't know about you but Summer scheduling ... Read More »
Dinner Parties & Alcohol – “you asked”
Occasionally I'll get an email from someone asking me to address a particular topic on my blog and recently I received this question: "What to do when you're invited to a gathering you know alcohol will be served at?" The person who asked this question doesn't drink alcohol and is feeling the tension of wanting to reach out to people but not wanting to be around the alcohol. ... Read More »
When your child marches to their own beat
When you have a child that marches to their own beat it can be frightening and beautiful all at the same time. I'm learning that letting go of what others think will be one of the best things we can do for our little rebels, true-to-themselves-marchers. And sometimes letting go of even what we think "should be." I'm referring to peripheral issues not foundational ... Read More »
4 things to the Woman still waiting to be a Mom:
To the desiring woman still waiting to be Mom, It's hard, isn't it? Still waiting. Hoping that this would be the Mother's Day you celebrate as a Mother with a child in her arms. While you're still hanging on to hope and know God has a plan there's still a deep ache inside your heart. And you wonder if you can make it to Sunday morning service where all the Mother's are ... Read More »