A little under 15 years ago I walked into a holiday season with a broken heart, unsure of what my next steps in life would be. My family was a mess. My career was up in the air, and autumn had only brought further destruction and devastation at every turn.
I have a confession. I cannot read the story of Moses’s birth without crying. Exodus 2 holds a special place in my heart as an adoptive mom, and it’s not for the reason you might assume. I’m not shedding tears over Pharoah’s daughter finding Moses and adopting him (although that
When I was in my twenties, I joined a small group at my church. The other women in it were mostly around my age. I can remember a conversation about sin and saying aloud, “Well I’m not really that bad. I’ve not murdered anyone!” One of my dear friends gently
Access We have five kids. (I know, I know… that’s a lot of kids and coffee in one home). But one of our parenting mantras is “In our family, we obey all the way, right away, and with a happy heart.” Now that our eldest twins are almost teenagers, we’ve
The Benefits of Godly Wisdom Have you ever had a moment when someone’s advice really made a difference in your life? What about a time you wished you had heeded a friend or mentor’s advice, and you didn’t? I think we’ve all been there at some point in our lives.
When I was little, I remember one of my Sunday school teachers teaching us the story about Jesus ascending into the clouds. She shared how excited she was for Jesus to come again. The story felt other-worldly, and I can still picture felt-board Jesus as she moved Him from the
Have you ever had a close friend who has heard the gospel, many times over, and yet they still haven’t allowed it to soften their hearts and change their lives? Or what about you? Have you heard the Good News of Jesus but the Word of God feels like
I don’t know about you, but I often find it easier to pray for others than it is to pray for myself. I’ll be in conversation with a friend and they’ll share about an issue with their kid or a sick relative, and I don’t have a problem storming the
For a long time, I thought that having a “successful” prayer life would require me to spend hours at a time with the Lord. I thought that to really pray effectively, I needed to get better or improve my prayer time. In my imagination, having a healthy prayer life meant
There is an old hymn that, to me, captures the very heart of Advent and today’s passage: The hymn’s first verse says: Come, Thou long expected Jesus Born to set Thy people free; From our fears and sins release us, Let us find our rest in Thee. Israel’s strength