When Your Soul is Overwhelmed: Choosing “Well-Being” over “Well-Doing”

When Your Soul is Overwhelmed: Choosing “Well-Being” over “Well-Doing”

“When do you feel closest to God?”

Across the table sits a sweet, young friend who will be heading off to college in a few weeks. Her eyes widen in surprise at my question, and I can see her searching for the “right” answer.

Our server sets down our breakfast, and we pray. Then I wait, the question still lingering between us.

“Umm, what do you mean? Like, when have I felt closest to God in my life? Or what do I do that makes me feel close to God?”

I smile, because I know she wants to be honest, but she also wants to be right. She knows me well enough by now to know that the honest answer is the right one, but old habits are hard to break. I get it.

“No, I mean when do you feel closest to God on a regular basis. What spiritual practices help you truly connect with Him?”

Her eyes sparkle as she begins to understand what I’m asking, but she still answers hesitantly. “Umm, maybe when I am alone with God, reading my Bible…. by myself?”

Yes! That’s it. Alone with God…

This is Real Life…

This is Real Life…

Today we’re using the #RealLife filter, because sometimes life doesn’t go as planned. And that’s okay.

I was feeling pretty proud of myself this afternoon. It was 3:00 and not only did I actually know what I was making for dinner (which is a minor miracle), tomorrow’s dinner was already thawing on the counter! Impressive, I know.

It was a simple dinner with very little prep, so I was able to squeeze in a quick walk before getting started. I washed my hands and pulled all the ingredients out of the fridge. Tonight’s menu included French dip sandwiches, salad, and roasted brussel sprouts. Sounds delicious, right? (Again, total rock star.)

Well, unfortunately (or fortunately, for my kids) the brussel sprouts spent a little too long in the crisper drawer and ended up in the trash. Not wanting to be outdone, the lettuce I bought last week plopped into the bowl as a giant pile of slime… so I had to toss it out as well.

I was 0 for 2; it was not looking good for the home team…

(keep reading)

Transforming Your Perspective: New Things are Coming!

Transforming Your Perspective: New Things are Coming!

If you are walking through a season of “lasts” (or loss), let me encourage you to look up and around. Look up to the One who holds all time in His hands, who is the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. And look around— at those He has placed in your path, at the hidden things that may only now be beginning to grow, and at His Word which is living and active in our lives. A slight shift in perspective might just bring you a much-needed glimpse of hope…

Change How You Parent: Fear or Faith?

Change How You Parent: Fear or Faith?

It is really hard to watch our kids walking that line between right and wrong, tip-toeing as close as they can to the dark without actually falling in. Jeff and I have encountered these types of struggles on multiple occasions with our children, so I feel your pain.
Jeff is better about seeing the big picture, but if I’m honest with you, I pretty much tend to freak out. I’m afraid they are going to ruin their life. I’m afraid they are going to walk away from Jesus. I’m afraid they are going to become everything I have invested so much time and energy guarding against!
I’m just plain afraid. And I begin to parent out of fear…

A Letter to Heaven

A Letter to Heaven

…I know you would be so proud of her. She is beautiful and hardworking and just as (stubborn) driven as she’s always been! She has an elegance and professionalism that remind me so much of you. I see you in her sometimes, and it makes me smile. I hope you know how grateful we are for your impact on her life.

We miss you…

When You Feel Stuck…

When You Feel Stuck…

Several years ago, when our kids were little, we paused to take pictures at an outside platform. We were in the World Showcase at EPCOT, looking across the lake towards Spaceship Earth. Eli was just a toddler at the time (and all boy!). I leaned down to fix Abby’s shoe, when all of the sudden, I heard screaming, and Sarah squealed, “Momma, come help! Eli’s stuck!”

Somehow our little guy had squeezed his head through the opening in the bars and was unable to pull it back out. So there he stood, half of him on one side of the gate and half of him on the other, unable to move in any direction.

Eventually, we were able to calm him down, and when he scooted a little lower, his head finally slid out. He was instantly off on another adventure as if nothing had ever happened. Like I said, all boy!

Friend, do you ever find yourself feeling stuck?

Maybe you set some goals and start moving forward, only to get part way in and find yourself caught between where you just were and where you are going. It paralyzes you, stopping your momentum and freezing you in your tracks. It can be scary at times, annoying at others, but it’s never fun.

We are nine weeks into the New Year, and I’ve had so many people express lately how they are feeling stuck…

6 Scripture Verses for Heart Transformation

6 Scripture Verses for Heart Transformation

Have you ever read something in the Bible you may have read before, but suddenly something about it strikes you in a completely different way? You read it again, wondering how you ever could have missed it!

Because this time it changes you. It makes you different.
You can never read those verses the same again.

The story of Jesus feeding the five thousand found in John 6:1-15 is one of those passages for me. I was familiar with the story, had read it more than once, and heard it preached on countless times. However, one night at a college Bible study, this one tiny verse stuck right in the middle of the passage jumped out at me for the first time ever. Jesus asks the disciples…