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I’ll never forget a statement one of my friends made during a conversation a few years back. We were talking about the things about our lives we wish were different, things we could change if we had the chance. At one point in the conversation, my friend looked at me and asked, “Kristen, why is it so easy for me to point out what I don’t like about my life, but then it’s difficult for me to list the things I do like about my life?”
Read MoreWhat if the reason you didn’t get that job is because God’s glory will be better displayed through the job you’ll end up in later on? What if the reason you’re not in a relationship right now is so that God’s glory can be displayed through you ministering to your friends? What if the reason your life doesn’t look the way you thought it would right now is because God’s glory will be better displayed through His plans for you than your plans for you?
Read MoreA few years ago, I submitted a book proposal to be reviewed by a publisher. As I do with any major piece of writing, I sent the proposal to my dad for him to look over and make sure I didn’t miss any typos or mistakes. But when my dad texted me after reading the proposal, I wasn’t expecting him to respond the way he did. His response was so kind and so encouraging, so I wrote it down in my journal.
Read MoreOne of the biggest lies I believed early on in my faith journey was that my faith in God had to be perfect. Any time my faith wavered or doubt crept in, I immediately felt like I had failed or disappointed God. I felt guilty at the thought of even questioning God or wondering where He was in the midst of my circumstances.
Read MoreThere are moments in your life that, when they happen, you know you’ll never forget them. I’ve got quite a long list of those moments in my own life, but there’s one in particular that will forever be a favorite. A few summers ago, as I was driving home from running errands, I couldn’t stop complaining. I wasn’t necessarily talking to myself out loud in my car (although I’ve done that before). But on the inside, my heart was listing off one complaint after the other.
Read MoreSomething I learned early on in my walk with the Lord is that there is nothing too insignificant to pray about. We can talk to God about literally anything and everything. He wants to hear it all, and He wants to help us with it all. His Word makes this very clear in Paul’s letter to the Philippians when he said, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done” (Philippians 4:6, NLT).
Read MoreI pulled my car out of the driveway and drove down the main street in our neighborhood towards the highway. About the time I was halfway out of the neighborhood, I passed a garbage truck. Wednesday is trash day here, and I had already seen this garbage truck stop by our house earlier that day. My first thought as I saw the garbage man throwing someone’s trash into the back of the truck was, “Gosh, what an awful day to be a garbage man. It’s cold. It’s wet. It’s raining. I would not want to be doing his job right about now.”
Read MoreOne of the biggest lies I believed early on in my faith journey was that my faith in God had to be perfect. Any time my faith wavered or doubt crept in, I immediately felt like I had failed or disappointed God. I felt guilty at the thought of even questioning God or wondering where He was in the midst of my circumstances.
Read MoreWhen you find yourself stuck between where you were and where you want to be for an extended period of time, it can be easy to lose your capacity to dream. As Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” When your feel heart-sick, dreaming is the last thing on your mind. But Psalm 126 encourages us to never stop dreaming, even when what we’re hoping for hasn’t become a reality yet.
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