God is in the business of healing lives. God cares about our broken state. He redeems and restores. When Jesus walked on earth, he healed so many from their sicknesses and their demons. He had these simple words for those he healed: “Go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for […]

Coming from a girl who grew up on the outskirts of a farm town boasting a population of 180 people, this may not surprise you. I love community. However, finding community is sometimes a challenge. Especially when you’re not in Kansas anymore, so to speak. I’ve lived in Dubuque, Iowa for 10 years now and […]

I could title this blog post: Preaching to the Choir. Only I’m not going to preach. I’m just going to share my struggle and what I’ve learned and hope it encourages you, while reminding me what is true. One of the worst things keeping me in survival mode is the desire to escape reality. It […]

We can go this life alone. But it’s a lot longer and harder. American culture has done humanity a disservice in telling us that we can pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and make things happen on our own. We’ve learned that somehow asking for help makes us weak, and deeper still, that weakness is […]

One day, I was feeling very overwhelmed in parenting my oldest, and Google searched something to the effect of “How to parent a highly emotional child.” The discovery I made that day has changed everything about the way I view the world. I discovered not just something about my son, but about myself. We are […]

In my last counseling session, my counselor told me, “You’re not really afraid of not being perfect. You’re afraid of shame.” Then she recommended “The Gifts of Imperfection” by Brené Brown and told me if I journaled through that book slowly, soaking in its wise words, I could save myself lots of money on counseling. […]

When my church leaders offered me the position of Children’s Ministry Director, I stepped back in wonder at God’s timing. And not in an overjoyed way. God had been making a way and preparing both me and my church for this. It was very obvious to me and others that he was opening the door […]

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the […]