We’ve all heard the story of the innkeeper. He’s the bad guy in the story, right? The one we talk about who forced Jesus to be born in a barn. It’s interesting to me that he gets a bad rap. God started showing me how the innkeeper was a good guy in the story. He’s the one who gave what he had. He didn’t have a palace, but he gave what he had. That makes him a hero in the story and why he was given a place in the story.
Read MoreWhat is it to love? It's to surrender everything I think about a person, and to lean in and pray, "Lord, teach me to love them as you do". There is no checklist. It's different for each person we relate to. It's a matter of growing to learn to love. Beginning to see the person through the eyes of the Creator.
Read MoreIf you cannot answer that question, it’s time to get out there! Find godly people and be open to being vulnerable, and begin living in the community. Ask God for direction if you are lost on where to turn. If you are able to answer this question, praise God! Thank him for the wonderful people in your life and then tell them you are thankful for them, too.
Read MoreFriendship is something we all know, experience, and offer, but rarely is it something that we stop to truly think about. When was the last time you looked up a TED Talk on how to be a better friend or bought a book on improving your friendship skills?
Read MoreThroughout our college years and our twenties, my friends and I got together each year in February to celebrate one of our favorite holidays. Not Valentine’s Day—Galentine’s Day.
Read MoreA memory popped up on my Snapchat, and I ended up down a rabbit memory hole, thumbing through my snap history back to when I first downloaded the app. The posts were snapshots of a girl with a smile, a witty comment, thriving through her high school years. Those posts offered tribute to a false narrative, the small controlled glimpse into my life I allowed my peers to see.
Read MoreA few years ago, in a season of change, I found myself praying for friends. It was a strange prayer, since I’ve always had friends, and good friends at that. But I needed more than just someone who was on the same schedule as I was and more than someone I bump into at the coffee shop on campus. I needed women who would pray for me and hold me accountable,
Read MoreEverything around you is moving. Texts received and emails flooding inboxes. Schedules are filling up…quickly. Just a few short weeks ago, we had such big aspirations and goals for ourselves. But then life got busy and time flies, and it becomes hard to focus on what matters most.
Read MoreHave you ever had a moment where you know you absolutely should not say the words that are going through your mind, but somehow they come out anyway? I like to think I am a kind person most of the time, but when I get stressed or upset, I say things to my husband that I don’t intend to say. Rather than using my words lovingly to help us find a solution to a problem, I use them to cause harm.
Read MoreI hadn’t expected to be able to sit down with her and talk. But the longer we sat there at the table, the more of her life story she poured out. I realized I’d judged her too harshly and not asked the right questions. I fiercely wished that I had checked up on her in the past to make sure she was okay after seeing signs of depression.
Read MoreI have so many friends who are hurting right now. I also know of many more — thanks to social media — people who I feel like I know in real life. It’s hard to know what to do or say when people I love go through hard things, and I never want to be insensitive to what they’re going through. Here are a few ways you can support someone who is hurting this holiday season:
Read MoreOur experiences in life shape how we move forward in the future and how vulnerable we are with others. Habits that we fed as we grew up have affected the daily choices that we make now. We are humans who live out patterns, and we can see that in our own lives because of the choices—or lack thereof—that we make.
Read MoreYesterday my close friend and I gathered in my living room amidst toys, empty juice boxes, and unfolded (but clean!) laundry. We buzzed with excitement despite the mess as we shared what God has been teaching us this week through Scripture, prayer, and everyday life. Hopes lifted up, tears shed, hearts humbled in prayer.
Read MoreWe often get to a point in life where there doesn't seem to be a convenient community to fall into. Our circumstances are lacking a built-in group of people that can give godly guidance, share our hopes and dreams, and walk through life together. Through living what lives we have lived, most of us realize that choosing the people we want to invest in us (and vice versa) is crucial in our walk with Jesus.
Read MoreThe convenience of a streaming church service can be a double-edged sword. Indispensable to those who cannot leave their bed, but a tool of temptation for the devil. I heard that whisper this morning: Why get up so early? It's cold and you deserve a break, and who will notice you anyway? Whether you go or stay won't make a difference. You're still going to watch the sermon online, it's not a sin to miss one week…
Read MoreGrad school wasn’t the problem. That became apparent as the tears welled up in my eyes, and I was suddenly at a loss for words as the unknown future loomed in front of me, and the weight of it all made me put my face in my hands and sob on my friend’s leather recliner when she asked what my plans were.
Read MoreLast night I went to a Christian concert, which was amazing. God was moving and it was a beautiful sight to see so many believers coming together unified and united. Eyes focused on the One who matters, hands raised in surrender. It was a beautiful sight to behold. While this was happening there were two women there with the intent to distract, shame and call us names.
Read MoreIt was 10:55 and, as I circled the church parking lot in my new college town for the third time, I realized there was no way I was going to find a place to park in time. I rarely missed a Sunday back at home, but I couldn’t figure out any solution than to leave the parking lot and drive back to my dorm. While it might not have seemed like a big deal, I felt like such a failure for not making it to church my first weekend at college.
Read MoreIf you are to believe that you are a child of God - the apple of His eye - then you must believe that of others. This is where it gets a little hard. Remember what it means to be the apple of God’s eye? How He desires to protect you? How He loves, and cherishes you? How He desires to see himself in you?
Read MoreFor so long, I let the enemy make me believe that my identity was in the fact that I was a gossiper. But that’s not true, for me or for any of us. I am not a gossiper, I am a treasured daughter of the Highest King. I have the opportunity every day from God to speak life or death into people’s lives.
Read More
