Big Plans, Small Hoops, & Simple Surrender

One thing I wish I could figure out is how to stop dreaming about “big plans” for my life. I know the trend is to think big and ask God for great things, but when it comes to career choices, my experience has been the opposite: the thing God has consistently asked me to do […]
My 3 “Good Reasons” Not to Rest

For years, my husband, Chris, encouraged me in taking a weekly Sabbath, yet I resisted. How could that even be possible with the constant demands of a young family, a group of women I was investing in, events to plan, and the never-ending, bottomless dirty clothes hamper? A weekly Sabbath just wasn’t possible, at least […]
Christ & Culture 101

One of the most recognizable voices of television history is Charlie Brown’s teacher, Mrs. Donovan. You only have to listen to her voice for a few seconds for your mind and body to be jolted back into those hard, plastic middle school chairs. Often, and unintentionally, Christians who share the gospel with people from different age […]
What Happens When You Don’t Have Time to Walk with God?

In college, I had things down. I went to all our fellowship meetings. I spent consistent time praying and reading the Bible. I met with a mentor and mentored a couple of younger guys myself. When people told me things would be different after college, I believed them, but I didn’t really know what they […]
Psalm 16 – My Portion and My Cup

“I can’t do this.” After an hour of struggling to get our toddlers into bed, I sat weeping. I was nine months pregnant with our third child and thinking life was already overwhelming – living in a new city, learning a new job, raising two children, keeping up with the everyday craziness. And now God […]
Flourishing or Languishing?

When I got my first job out of college, it certainly didn’t feel like I was flourishing. I lived in New Jersey and worked in New York. I woke up every day at 5:30 AM to catch the train, and if there was a seat, I could spend a little time reading the Bible. The […]
White Space: The Art of Scheduling Nothing

I was going through the motions…you know, the ones I do every day. Making a quick dinner, cleaning it up, preparing for an evening meeting, rushing off to whatever, and then back home to get some sleep, and thinking, “Didn’t we just do this?” In fact, we had, just 24 hours earlier, right? I “run […]
Christmas is a Collision of Worlds

Within a few weeks of throwing my lot in with Jesus, I pledged a sorority. It was a collision of worlds. I was an ignorant freshman, a fledgling Christian and a freshly-minted sorority girl. I look around at my new sorority sisters. Hmm, we all look the same. Young, white, well-dressed women, from good-enough families, […]
Suffering?

I get together with a group of men that starts each meeting with updates about our lives and a few prayer requests. I’ve started using the ACTS prayer tool (Adoration – Confession – Thanksgiving – Supplication) as a framework for what I’d like to share. At some point, I realized that my thanksgiving tends to […]
“Help, Please!”

Before I graduated, I thought my life was fairly under control, but pretty soon, I found myself struggling with anxiety and depression. After college, I found a job I was excited about, but even so, many days felt like I was living in a dark cloud, scared, confused and disoriented. “What’s wrong with me?” I […]