Enter your email below so you can receive my free daily devotion straight to your inbox every weekday!
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.
Read MoreI 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.
Read MoreHave you ever been in a conversation with someone who could only seem to talk about themselves? They tell you about the unending busyness with their job, the ups and downs of their relationship with their significant other, and the recent conflict they had with a friend. They might even take the time to ask for your help or your advice, but then they don’t stop talking long enough for you to actually answer them.
Read MoreAre you tired of waiting? Me too. I saw a quote the other day that said, “One of the hardest parts about being a Christian is the waiting.” I couldn’t agree more.
Read MoreFrom that very first page, all the way to the back cover, I asked God to give me patience over and over again. And as I continued writing out my prayers, no matter how big or small my circumstances seemed, I wrote about them, asking for wisdom and guidance and grace and understanding and…you guessed it…more patience.
Read MoreWhen Jesus is using the vine and branch analogy with His disciples, He makes it very clear that if we aren’t connected to Him, we can’t do anything. If we distance ourselves from Him, we’ll never get through this tough season. We’ll never be able to fully move on from the hurt, the loss, the disappointment, and the frustration. If we don’t draw near to the Lord, we won’t be capable of navigating the unexpected.
Read MoreI started writing down my prayers during the summer before my senior year of high school, and I’ve been keeping a prayer journal ever since. I’ve written down prayers about anything and everything: friends, family, boys, basketball, work, money, etc. If it was on my heart, I wrote it down. And now after over ten years of writing down my prayers, it has been the biggest blessing to be able to go back through these journals and read about how God was working in my heart and to see how He answered the prayers I wrote down.
Read MoreWhen I was reading my Bible yesterday, I spent some time studying a passage from Luke chapter 7. In this particular passage, Luke describes the time when John the Baptist sends messengers to ask Jesus if He is really the Messiah, or if they should be waiting for someone else. To be honest, I’ve skimmed through this passage a lot in the past. I know I’ve read it, but I’ve never really studied it, until yesterday. And as I dove deeper into this story, my heart started to break for John the Baptist in a way it never had before. His humanity became so evident to me in this story, and it encouraged me in one way and saddened me in another.
Read MoreA month before my wedding day, I got to experience a really cool full circle moment. It was one of those moments I couldn’t help but smile and silently thank the Lord that His plan was better than mine and that He was in the details even when I couldn’t see how He was working and what He was doing.
Read More
