A few months ago I picked up R.A. Torrey’s book, How to Pray, and began reading with some hope that it would wake my tired spirit. I flipped through the first few chapters, letting conviction and information seep in, and, for a few days, I seemed to improve. My motivation to read Scripture and spend time […]
GOOD GRIEF
On dealing with tragedy and loss
My dear, sweet friend, Lorrie, passed away a few weeks ago, and that is something I am not okay with. I will never be okay with it. Not because she had more life to live here on earth, though she did, nor because there isn’t anything beyond this life, because there is, but because death […]
SPREADING A LITTLE KINDNESS
How small gestures of love can have a big impact
My first year of college, I was stressed. I didn’t know how I was going to afford tuition, I didn’t have a job lined up, and I didn’t have any clue how I would have time to get it all done. I went grocery shopping with a few people I had met recently, and the […]
Listening For A Whisper
Seeking the Holy Spirit amidst the clutter of life
A few years ago my university put on a weekend-long conference titled When God Seems Silent. With a title like that, the conference promised to answer one of the questions nagging me at that time: is God talking to me even when I don’t hear him? I attended only one session of the conference because […]
A Forgetful People: A Forgiving God
The benefits of Scripture memorization
College gets romanticized as a time for parties and lifelong memories, and while for some that may hold true, my college experience could not be further from that lifestyle. I decided to attend a school way outside of my budget. Because of this choice, I needed to accelerate my graduation to afford such expensive schooling. […]
Raising Your Palms on Sunday
Holding on to the meaning of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem
Palm leaves sway above the dusty streets of Jerusalem. The city, anxious with celebration, teems with the hope of a people undaunted by adversity— a nation of survivors promised abundance and freedom by a faithful, loving God. The people roar to a crescendo as a humble procession moves through the streets. These people, who were […]
CONSTANT GRATITUDE
Living a life of thanksgiving
Lorrie Noel found out she had a brain tumor in August 2011. After more testing, she learned it was cancerous. Though the cancer had nestled into an inoperable place in her brain, stretching its deadly tendrils from this safe haven, Lorrie had inexplicable joy. Seasoned doctors wondered at her undaunted smiles, and nurses, hardened by […]
Allowing God To Move
Being open to the movement of the Holy Spirit while still getting things done
How do we learn to be disciplined in what we set our hearts and minds on but always be open to what God wants to do in us and through us each day? It’s so easy to put expectations on ourselves for what we should be spending our time on. However, this can sometimes make […]