-
How to Find Strength in God When Life Is Tough
Winter was bearing down on us with a stranglehold that left me breathless at times. Every morning, I sat beside the window and wondered whether our family was about to walk down the most broken road we’d ever known. Day after day, I opened God’s Word in hopes that I might to discover how to find strength in God as we faced our storm. There was a medical prognosis on the horizon, and I was terrified. I’d been standing on Truth that held the power to slay the giant of fear. I’d been rebuking, taking back ground, worshiping, and fixing my eyes on the pure and good. Nevertheless, as I…
-
10 Things God Wants You to Know
There are sailboats on the water today, and I know this season won’t last much longer. I remember where I was last season at this time: suffering quietly in what felt like a never-ending valley of despair. Maybe you’ve been here, too. Perhaps you know how it feels to wonder about the things God wants you to know when life is hard, when you can’t hear his voice. Sometimes the quiet valleys of suffering are the most difficult of all. They’re the valleys no one sees, the ones no one understands, or even worse, the ones you’re just expected to endure. Regardless of whether you’re sailing beneath sunny skies or…
-
How to Embrace Change: 8 Mindsets to Help You
It happened on a balmy August evening with locusts droning on like a reminder that the earth would keep spinning, even if my world had shifted in an uncomfortable direction. It was time to learn how to embrace change, and it wasn’t going to be a lesson that came easily. We will all face seasons of drastic change in life, and that August evening threw me like few others. In a matter of minutes, every dream I’d been dreaming – every plan I’d been carefully laying down like a piece of some giant puzzle – fell to the wayside, and I was left alone with a radically shifted set of…
-
10 Bible Verses About the Unknown Future
I sit among the aspen as they flutter quaking hands toward heaven. I’ve come to the woods to pray through my fears about the future, and I open my Bible in search of some comforting Bible verses about the unknown. Lately, I’ve been looking ahead with anxiety. I want to trust God with the future, but I often feel paralyzed by fear and worry. Comforting Bible Verses About the Unknown How do we live without fear of the future and plant our feet on solid ground? The Biblical Example of Fear-Fighting As I sit among the aspen, my mind is drawn to two men who decided to stand on God’s…
-
How to Let Go and Let God Lead You in Life
I take a long walk with a friend beneath the golden rays of summer sunlight. We talk about what God is doing in our lives, about plans and the future and how we want to be on board with whatever he has for us. “I want to learn to let go and let God lead me,” I tell my friend, “but I’m struggling with what this looks like on a practical level.” We want to be holy women, women sold out for a kingdom purpose that’s bigger than ourselves. We want to be women who love well and listen well and aren’t afraid to climb difficult summits for the sake…
-
15 Bible Verses on Emotional Health: With Applications
God cares about every aspect of his children’s lives. He cares about our bodies, our spirits, our minds, and our emotions. Today, we’ll explore 15 Bible verses about emotional health. Then, I’ll share three practical applications to help us process our feelings in God’s presence. Be sure to read to the end of today’s post for a free devotional eBook to help you connect with God for emotional wholeness. Bible Verses on Emotional Health Here are 15 encouraging Bible verses on emotional health. 15 Bible Verses on Emotional Health 1. Galatians 5:22-23 ESV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against…
-
Why You Don’t Have to Fear Being an Outsider
It’s a brisk Thursday morning, and as the alarm clock sounds, I consider backing out of the commitment I made last week. I told a friend I’d join her at a new group for moms. Today, I want nothing more than to stay in my sweatpants all day and avoid the awkward feeling of being an outsider. As I lie motionless in bed, I pause to be brutally honest with myself. I decide I’m done wearing a mask, fitting into a mold, and attempting to straighten my curly hair—all to avoid being an outsider in a world of insiders. C.S. Lewis on Being an Outsider Most of us learn about…
-
Easter Encouragement: Let God Lift Your Head
We go to the woods on a cool spring morning. The first bulbs are climbing through the earth to speak secrets known only to those who live long through dark winters. We’ve known dark winters here. We’ve wept over broken ground and shattered dreams, and we need a dose of Easter encouragement this year. As our children search earthen hollows for plastic Easter eggs, I think of the empty tomb. I think of the mystery of healing from brokenness and the miracle of life from death. Easter Encouragement As we search for the eggs, I remember Jesus’ words from the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what…
-
10 Biblical Affirmations for Kids of All Ages
Not long ago, our family shared a moment that reminded me of the importance of speaking biblical affirmations over our kids. Join us in the backyard, and we’ll talk about teaching our kids to stand on their identities in Christ. Be sure to read to the end of today’s post for three devotional books to affirm your children’s identities in Christ. Biblical Affirmations for Your Kids I wasn’t thinking about developing our daughter’s identity in Christ when it happened. It was a balmy August evening, and rays of sinking sun shone white on the lawn as we finished dinner on the deck. My husband Darrell offered to take the kids…
-
How to Renew Your Mind (With Kelly Balarie)
Do you want to learn how to renew your mind? According to God’s Word, we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. God’s primary tool for this process is his written Word. How to Renew Your Mind We can also follow the wise words of those who have gone before us. Today, we’ll look at practical suggestions on how to renew your mind as we take a look inside a powerful new book. How to Renew Your Mind As our bangs plastic toys into one another like there’s a war happening in his bedroom naptime, I watch sun glance through smudged windowpanes and read these familiar words:…
