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Start Praying for Your Children With This Life-Changing Prayer
The new school year always prompts me to be more intentional about praying for my kids as I send them into the world. If you can relate—if you want to be more consistent when it comes to praying for your children—this is for you today. I’ve been praying for my little ones for over a decade now. Over the years, I’ve discovered one powerful prayer that has changed the way I parent and the way I encourage my kids. Start Praying for Your Children Like This . . . Before I share the prayer I pray for my kids every single day, let me invite you into the evening God…
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Struggling to Draw Near to God? This Is for You…
The wildflower fields are speckled with the vibrant freckles of black-eyed susans. I stare at the gold flecks and struggle to quiet my racing mind. I’m tired of mindlessly skimming through the Bible and failing to draw near to God in the quiet moments of my morning. I’m pondering a new approach when my 4-year-old shuffles into the room. He takes hold of my hand and pulls me outside to the deck. He points to the fields and says, “Daddy’s out there with the dogs.” I don’t believe him until I hear the howl of our beagle rolling over the wildflowers. It’s Saturday, and I’m glad Darrell is out of…
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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…
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I Am Tired, God: Encouragement for Exhausting Seasons
The evening sky is graying with dusk, and your feet are weary from a full day of living in the thick of your calling. You’re ready for the needy people to head home so you can do the same—so you can take a long break from life and this world with its incessant demands. “I am tired, God,” you whisper. “Please carry me.” Most of us have been here. It might be the classroom where you invest your time teaching young people. Maybe it’s the house where the children rule the schedule, including when you will eat, sleep, and even shower. Perhaps it’s the quiet cubicle where you spend the…
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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…
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How to Overcome Toxic Thoughts With God’s Help
A dandelion releases her ashen fuzz to the sky, and I stand at the window to watch. The window is strong and clear, but a year ago, it was fractured into a dozen tiny lines. I’m not proud of the moment I shattered the window with my bare hand. Nevertheless, the incident eventually helped me learn how to overcome toxic thoughts with God’s help. Maybe it’s taken a year for me to write about this because I was ashamed I had it in me. Maybe you’ve been here, too. Perhaps you’ve yelled just a little too forcefully at your kids, lashed out a little too ferociously at that guy who…
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9 Bible Verses to Calm Fear and Anxiety
I stare out the window in the early morning hours and pray for my unraveling thoughts to settle. I’ve been fighting fear lately, and I’m losing the battle. This morning, my memorized list of Bible verses to calm fear is far from my mind. I am alone in the darkness. Perhaps you can relate. You want to overcome fear and anxiety with God’s help, but when the darkness creeps in, you often feel alone and forsaken. We face fears about everything from what will happen if the job falls through to what we’ll do if the scan reports a tumor. How do you overcome your fear when the circumstance you…
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How to Feel Your Feelings but Stand on the Truth
She pedals alongside me on her purple princess bike as I push her cheese-curl-munching brother in the faded brown stroller. I have no idea she’s about to teach me a very grown-up lesson about how to feel your feelings. Little ones seem to have a way of imparting life lessons without knowing it. “I’ve decided not to let myself miss Daddy today,” she says. Her dad has been out of town for work for three days, and we have three more to go. “Why’s that?” I probe. “When I let myself miss him, it just ruins the day. I was sad all day yesterday, so I’ve decided not to be…
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10 Bible Verses About Passion and Purpose in Life
I sit along the trickling creek as ribbons of fading daylight twirl through a canopy of maples. I’m here to talk to God about my life, and I’ve brought my Bible in search of Bible verses about passion and purpose in my life. Life has been full and blessed lately. The house is filled with the noise of children. Our days are spent splashing in this creek and riding bikes along the winding path. We are surrounded by blessings. These days with the kids also offer very little downtime. If I’m not preparing a meal for someone, I’m cleaning up or scooping food into a little mouth. If I’m not…
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When You’re Struggling to Cherish Life
Last week, a friend asked what life’s like with three kids. I told her I hadn’t slept more than one consecutive hour since the newest addition to our family arrived on the scene. I was honest about the chaos and the constantness of this lovely little life we’ve created for ourselves. She smiled and said something about how I should cherish life in this season. She had good intentions. It just felt like she wasn’t hearing me. A day later, standing by the sliding glass door as the lemon-hued petals flutter to the deck, all I can see is a mess that will need to be swept from the muddy…
