The Strength in God’s Truth

Lately I’ve felt like I’m facing mountains. In my job. In motherhood. In ministry. In college we had this saying, “The way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.” But what about the days that you take one step forward, two steps back? Stuff keeps building and becomes overwhelming. Recently in church […]

Be Brave, Be Very Brave

My 2-year-old has discovered Bad Guys and Monsters. Those invisible beings are great fun to shoot at and chase during the day but lurk in dark corners of the bedroom and keep little people awake at bedtime. He cried for almost an hour last night yelling “Wait, Daddy!” and “Cuddle, Mommy!” That resulted in Bad […]

Just Being Honest

There’s a trick to writing about God’s word…you have to actually be reading it. It blows my mind how I can know that the Bible changes me, blesses me, helps me worship, yet I just don’t make time to read it. Oh, I have the time. Maybe not the get-out-all-the-books-and-research kind of time but at […]

So, Why Read it?

No joke. I’m sitting in the public library typing away about Bible study and an older gentleman walks by, stops and says incredulously, “I just saw this book title, ‘How to Read the Bible.’ Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous? You open it up and you start at Genesis!” We laughed together, and talked […]

Context. Context. Context.

Why Bible Study – Part V Ever had an awkward moment where someone overheard you say something and mistook your meaning because they only heard part of what you said? They took it out of context, making you look bad. Because the Bible contains so much, we can easily bend what it actually says to […]

The Depth of the Bible

Why Bible Study? Part II One nippy October night on a hayride, I shared the story of Jesus’ love with a curly-headed first-grader. Her eyes lit up with understanding. “That’s the nicest thing anyone has every done for me!” The message of the Bible is simple enough for someone hearing it the first time to […]

The Bible as a Story

Why Bible Study? Part I When I turned eleven, my parents gave me the Anne of Green Gables books. I connected with those stories on a level I never had before. I laughed with my mom late at night reading how Anne cracked her slate over Gilbert’s head. When her friend Ruby died I cried […]

God’s Story in my Life {31 Days}

I have a confession to make. Several actually. I got to about Day 10 of this 31 Day Challenge  and started worrying. My life sounded so idyllic. Was I talking too much about the good parts in my story? Should I conjure up all the negative things I can remember about growing up and start […]

Two Babies, Two Stories {31 Days}

I have two beautiful children. As the oldest of 9 in my family, I was familiar with pregnancy and childbirth. However, I would often worry when my mom was pregnant that something would happen to her or baby. So when I was expecting our son, that fear reared its head and I struggled with the […]

Truth in the Dark {31 Days}

Shortly before leaving for college I took a Myers-Briggs personality test. I tested as a 100% extroverted ESFJ. One hundred percent. Looking back, it indicated my unhealthy dependence on people. Because I’d spent years wishing I lived closer to friends, I loved being surrounded by Christians at college. I made friendships left and right. Some […]