Looking Back…2022

Like many people today, I am reflecting on this last year. 2022 has been a bittersweet year for my family. We have experienced some difficulties but we have also experienced some victories. I am sure that some of you understand this feeling in your own lives. Last year at this time, my family was grieving

The Pattern of Death and Life

Over the last year, I have been thinking about getting a tattoo. Most people who have tattoos start when they are pretty young. My brother, for example, got his first tattoo (as far as I know) when he was seventeen while my sister starting tattooing herself (with India ink) at a much younger age. I

Corporate Repentance: A Look to the Past

Over the last few months, I have been reading through the Bible in a different way than ever before. The Bible plan that I am using this year is thematic: Genesis with Romans, Isaiah with Mark, and now Leviticus with Hebrews. I have greatly enjoyed seeing how different sections of the Bible relate to one

Even Though…

The last five months have been difficult for most of us. Over the last five months, many of us have experienced a trauma that we never expected to experience in our lives. We have undergone different stages of grief because our “normal” lives have been upended. Along with the changes to our “normal” lives, COVID-19

Be Encouraged: Stand Firm

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, churches around the world needed to find new ways to connect with their community. During the spring and early summer of 2020, my husband and I put together a Bible study for our church members and community members who wanted to continue discussing God’s Word together. Now that

What is True…What is Noble

Throughout my Christian journey, there have been several scriptures that I have meditated upon as a way to remind myself of God’s promises. As I was recovering from a year of severe anxiety and depression, I memorized Philippians 4:6-7 while at a retreat that I can say changed the way that I interact with God

He Shouts in a Whisper

We are living in a time with a lot of noise and distraction. Since January of this year, the news has been filled with chaotic information from the impeachment hearings of the U.S. president to the increase of positive cases of COVID-19 and now to cities that are filled with signs of revolution and rebellion

New Book Release

This last week I finished putting together my second collection of devotions. It is a collection focused on recognizing the opportunities for grace that God provides us with each day. It is a 5-week, or 25 day, devotional collection with a focus on: Experiencing peace in times of strife Living in the great grace of

New Devotional Book Coming…

I wasn’t planning on putting together my next devotional book until this summer. However, because of COVID-19, I am not working directly with my students until the beginning of the next school year. This makes me incredibly sad because I never got to say goodbye, at least not formally. So, I have some significant time

Scripture as a Talisman?

This morning I was reminded that for the most part, I am fairly superstitious. When I was young in my faith, I believed that if I always did the right thing then I would be safe from any trouble. If I read enough scripture, if I went to enough Bible studies, if I had a