Our world sure does look a lot different since our last anniversary. And not just because of the dystopian TV series 2020 has been. In the past year, our marriage has weathered storms of unemployment, depression, hope deferred, and faith lost and found. Renewing our vows was supposed to mark an exciting new beginning for …
Tag: personal
To speak truth in love, you must speak
Although white-woman-wokeness is trendy right now and I hate bandwagons, something tectonic has shifted in me, and now I can no longer balk at the fear of imperfection and conflict that has positioned me against people I love by default. It’s time to break the seal of silence and be willing to imperfectly stand and speak the truth in love.
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 …
Letters to and from God
This is me. This is how I pray. It’s how I prayed for two years, actually. Scurrying to the secret place and writing longhand every morning through intense soul-pain, repressed emotions, and life changes, tears of rage and gratitude dried in the margins. I stopped last December after a major revelation brought closure to issues …
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 …
Labelled with love
What’s stopping you from achieving your dreams? What gets in the way as you step into your calling? It can be timing or money or training or logistics.It can be lack of support or clarity or direction. But let’s be honest. Usually, it’s YOU. Or rather, the lies you believe about yourself. Through struggle and …
Holy jeans
These are my actual jeans. Notice anything odd about them? (Hint: It’s the knees.) I acquired these pants at different times, and I’ve worn them in steady rotation over the last four years, but when I bought them, none of them had holes or weird dye jobs (a fashion plate, I’m not). I earned these …
After a year of waiting (we’re still waiting)
One year ago today, my husband and I heard the call from God to help start a church in a new country. It caught us off guard—we’re newish Christians and not in leadership—but our answer was a resounding YES. Yes, we want to build the Kingdom.Yes, we’re willing to uproot our lives.Yes, we can start …
God cares about little things (like the Christmas present you should have bought weeks ago)
Yesterday, I was that woman crying in the toy aisle at Walmart. But not for the reason you might think. All my daughter asked for from Santa is an Elsa doll. But despite months of walking past aisles full of them, it didn’t occur to me to buy one until last week. Rookie move. Now, …