The world is scary right now, but we can choose to hope anyway.
Tag: peace
I show up (except when I don’t)
I show up because I can’t not. But I’m learning a new way.
Shalom into Sheol
In this quiet season, there is a small voice whispering.
Pierced for love: 7 years of service, a lifetime of devotion
I’m thinking of getting a new piercing. But it’s probably not one you’re thinking of.
Your divine permission slip
Lay down your burden of worry and guilt and trying to make everything okay when it is very not okay.
Holy rest: the power of sabbatical
Sabbatical (noun): from the Hebrew agricultural term “shmita,” referring to a year-long break from working the land to allow it to rest and heal in God’s care rather than man’s. I have never successfully returned from a sabbatical. Every time I’ve taken a break from writing, whether personal or self-improvement or fiction, it’s ended up …
Peace beyond peace
There’s a peace that goes beyond peace. One more universal than doves and olive branches.One more profound than pre-dawn silence.One more complete than your boxed set of Friends. It’s the peace that existed in Eden,that gave Abraham his strength,that steadied Jesus in Gethsemane. Not the peace of this world, the Roman “pax.”A peace so other …
Jesus isn’t ashamed of your panic attack
Y’all, I had an actual panic attack last night. Not normal for me. It wasn’t even about anything important—I was gaming online, doing too many new things at once, and melted down. It was bad enough that my brain crashed. That I ran from my computer and abandoned my friends. That I cried over something …
Don’t Martha it up
I can’t be the only one whose brain is too full. There’s just so much to think about right now. (You know—a list will just make us both anxious.) Weirdly, I feel like I have less bandwidth, time, and energy than I did before COVID despite being home more and having fewer responsibilities. My mind is …
Your father is right here with you
When I was 28, I had a massive hip surgery. I’d never had a wisdom tooth pulled and was utterly terrified. The day of the procedure, I was dull and numb and the world moved in unreal slow motion. Thankfully, Mom was there. There I was, a grown woman, clinging to my mother as …
What rest looks like
I just got back from a week in sunny Florida, my first solo travel in 6 years. I showed up with a backpack and no plan aside from thawing out. As I kept telling people, I was just happy to be there. This trip was a much-needed time of rest for me, a fermata of …
The use of doubt
Having faith doesn’t mean you have no doubts. Having peace doesn’t mean you have no struggle. Having Jesus means your doubts and struggles are firmly underfoot, pinned and conquered, squirming in the captivity of their submission. “With me, faith means perpetual unbeliefKept quiet like the snake ’neath Michael’s footWho stands calm just because he feels …