For the next year, my friends and my classmates, who had now heard the story of my chickening out, poked fun at me for being too scared to ride. You know how middle schoolers are. But despite their teasing, I didn’t care what anyone thought. I didn’t want to ride the roller coaster. I was confident in that decision, and I let the teasing continue. I think back to this memory now, and I’m honestly pretty proud of 13-year-old Kristen. But then I also think, “If I didn’t care what people thought of me then, why do I care so much about what they think now?”
Read MoreI remember one night last year when I was at small group, and we only had five people in attendance. While there’s definitely some truth behind the old statement of “the more the merrier,” I also love when conversations happen between a small group (no pun intended) of people at a gathering. So I was excited to see what the conversation would hold that night.
Read MoreIf I’m being honest, the word “contentment" has become one of my least favorite words in the English language over the past few years. If I had a dollar for every time someone told me to just be content in the Lord and then He would give me what I’m waiting for, I could probably retire comfortably to Bora-Bora by the time my 35th birthday came around.
Read MoreOne day while I was working from home, my little sister Danielle came by the house and brought the five kids she nannied with her. (Yes, I said five kids. And did I mention they’re all under the age of 10? Clearly my sister is a special kind of human.)
Read MoreToday’s key Scripture passage is one of the most encouraging passages in the Bible, and also one of the most frustrating all at the same time. Let me explain. It’s encouraging when you’re waiting for something or asking God for something, because He is saying that eventually we will get an answer. If we’re praying according to His will, we will see our desires come to fruition. But this passage gets super frustrating when it seems like you’ve been asking for the same thing over and over with no apparent response, or when you’ve been knocking at a door that seems permanently locked.
Read MoreSomething I’ve struggled with over the years is putting a lot of stock in what other people think of me. I’ve always been concerned with making sure people like me, that I get along with others, and that people have a positive perception of me. After all, who doesn’t want to be liked? Who doesn’t want other people to think and say nice things about them? We all want those things, right?
Read MoreHave you ever gotten your hopes up for something, and then you ended up being disappointed and let down? If I had to guess, you probably have. But if by some miracle you’ve escaped that not-so-great feeling up until this point, trust me, it’s coming. I’m not a pessimistic person. In fact, I’m usually the optimist in my group of friends. But even I, the girl who always believes there’s going to be a happy ending, understand that disappointment is just a part of life.
Read MoreI discovered the miraculous effects of a good skincare routine about five years ago. (Rabbit trails on YouTube will do that to you.) Before I knew it, I was headed to the store to buy cleansers, toners, serums, exfoliants, moisturizers, and even under-eye cream (because wrinkles in your twenties are something no one warned me about).
Read MoreIt’s so easy to get wrapped up in our own hopes, dreams, and desires, and become convinced that we know exactly what will satisfy our hearts. But my friend Elaine reminded me that our desires for ourselves and God’s desires for us aren’t always the exact same thing. She told me, “Kristen, you’re going to be so grateful that God did not give you your lesser desires, even though you would have sworn those were the things that would do the trick."
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