Just a few weeks before we got married, my husband and I adopted a golden retriever puppy. We named him Sparky, and I can say with full confidence that he has lived up to his name because there is never a dull moment when he’s around.
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Imagine that someone who loves you, knows you super well, and is an excellent planner put together an amazing day for your birthday - your favorite meals, your favorite activities, your favorite people, etc. They planned the absolute perfect birthday for you. Wouldn’t you be excited? And wouldn’t you trust that person because of how well they know you and how much they love you? Of course you would! So then let me ask you this: Why do you doubt God when He loves you more than anyone, He knows you better than anyone else, and He has plans more perfect and custom fit for you than anything anyone else could ever put together?
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Five and a half years ago, I landed in Israel for a 10-day trip full of mission and work and touring the Holy Land. I was super excited about those ten days, but I was also tired…and not just because I had been on an airplane for 14 hours. I was emotionally tired. I was mentally tired. And I was spiritually tired. I felt drained. And I was in desperate need for my cup to be refilled.
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Every Sunday night, I lead a life group of nine high school girls. In my years of working with students, whether that’s in the context of youth ministry or coaching basketball, I’ve learned that while you’re there as an adult to teach them and give them wisdom, it’s often the students who end up teaching you. My Sunday night life group is no different.
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I want you to imagine a gardener sowing seeds in the fertile soil of a garden. Day after day, she tends to her plants with care, watering them, nurturing them, and patiently waiting for signs of growth. Yet, despite her efforts, the surface remains unchanged. Weeks pass, and still, there is no sign of life. Doubt creeps in, and she wonders if her labor has been in vain.
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A few years ago, I bought a book of prayers that was recommended by one of my friends, and this book has become one of my favorite resources to read, especially when I can't seem to find the words to pray about what's on my heart.
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Let me ask you a question. When you pray and ask God for something, how do you go about asking Him? Do you beg Him over and over to give you exactly what you want? Do you try to negotiate with God saying, “If You do this for me, then I’ll do this for you”? Or do you pray with a submissive heart, asking that the Lord work out His will in your life?
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Trusting God in the unknown can be one of the hardest parts about being a follower of Jesus. For some reason, even though we know we serve an all-knowing, all-powerful God, we find it difficult to trust Him when life doesn’t seem to be going the way we thought it would. We walk into a difficult or unforeseen season, and we immediately start questioning our Heavenly Father instead of choosing to trust Him.
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I was reading in Luke chapter 8 the other day, specifically the story of Jesus calming the storm when he was in a boat with His disciples on the Sea of Galilee. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve read or heard this story over the years. But as I read it the other day, something new stood out to me that I’d never noticed before.
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