Have you ever considered that God’s past faithfulness is what fuels today’s courage? Think about it. When was the last time you saw evidence of God’s faithfulness in your life? Maybe He provided you with an incredible job that you love after you’d been looking for one for months. Maybe He closed the door on one relationship, but then later opened the door to another one that has exceeded your expectations. Or maybe He provided you with encouraging and supportive friends during one of the toughest seasons of your life.
Read MoreFall and winter are my two favorite seasons, hands down. I love cold weather. I love the clothes I get to wear. I love celebrating all of the holidays. And I loved drinking salted caramel hot chocolate from Starbucks. When I’m in the midst of anticipating all of the good things that will come in the next season, it’s super easy for me to point out all of the less-desirable aspects of the current summer season.
Read MoreLet me ask you a question. If you knew God was calling you to do something big, would you be more likely to jump on board without any hesitation, or would you say something along the lines of “no thanks, I’m good” because you didn’t want to lose your comfort and stability? A lot of us would like to say we’d follow God’s lead at the drop of a hat. But in reality, a lot of us have avoided (or are currently avoiding) God’s call on our lives for fear of the unknown.
Read MoreUnfortunately, our default setting as human beings is to focus on ourselves. We think about ourselves. We talk about ourselves. We redirect conversations so they’re about us. We’re such a self-focused bunch of people. But that’s not what we’re called or commanded to be according to Scripture. Instead, we’re supposed to be selfless like Jesus was. As Paul states in the book of Philippians, we are supposed to focus on the interests of others, not just our own.
Read MoreAround this time last year, my world was absolutely rocked. It seemed like everything was changing at once. I had left my job at my church after working there for nearly four years. I was starting a brand new job, which was its own kind of exciting and terrifying. The guy I had been dating (who I thought I was going to marry) broke up with me seemingly out of nowhere. And I found out that I was going to have to move to a different apartment. Oh, and did I mention that this all happened in a span of 3 weeks?
Read MoreI’m a big fan of asking questions. I think questions are the best way to take a conversation deeper and to allow the person answering the questions to process whatever it is that’s on their heart. I truly believe we can become better versions of ourselves if we’re willing to ask questions, not only to those we love, but to ourselves as well.
Read MoreA couple of weeks ago, I went to the doctor to get some antibiotics for a cuticle infection I had on my left hand (gross, I know). When I was sitting in the room with the doctor, she asked me if I was allergic to any medication, and I told her no, because at that time, I had never had a negative reaction to any medicine I’d been given. But six days later, that was no longer the case.
Read MoreHave you gone through something painful, heartbreaking, or upsetting, but then you’ve seen God use your story down the road to encourage someone else? What a compassionate and gracious God we serve that He would give us these little nods of hope and redemption as He grants us opportunities to empathize with people who are walking the same rough paths we’ve walked.
Read MoreWhen I first heard about this study of the trees in Biosphere 2, I couldn’t help but smile at the metaphor it creates in relation to our lives as followers of Jesus. If we go through life without any sort of pushback, any sort of tension, storms, or struggles, our faith will not grow stronger. Rather, it will collapse under the pressure down the road because it hasn’t been conditioned to handle the hard parts of life. The difficult moments we face, the heartbreaking circumstances that come our way, those are the things that the Lord uses to mature us, to grow us, and to develop us so that we can learn to remain standing through it all.
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