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How to Trust God in Difficult Times: 4 Ways
It’s a bitter winter evening, snow falling like a white veil, when I realize that I need to let myself feel the disappointment I’ve been running from. Not long ago, a dream fell apart, and I decided it would be best to pretend I never cared about the dream. Perhaps facing my true feelings on this brisk winter evening will help me learn how to trust God in difficult times. To be honest, ignoring the pain seemed easier than dealing with disappointment directly. Most of us know all about this kind of false resilience. We say we’re rolling with the punches and bouncing back, but what we’re really doing is…
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Overcome Anxiety With God: 6 Steps to Help You
I sit beneath the hemlocks while my little boy throws rocks into the water. I’m thankful we have a place to slip away from the demands of our days. Today, I’m desperate to overcome anxiety with God in this quiet moment by the water. A question comes to mind as I sit in the silence: Where does my life feel out of control? When I feel like I have a grip on my life, peace reigns. However, when my house is a mess, my schedule is overbooked, my kids are disobeying me, and my career feels uncertain, anxiety creeps in. Not long ago, a friend looked into my eyes and…
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3 Reasons You Might Have “Misheard” God’s Voice
I vividly remember staring into the forested landscape and wondering how I’d missed it. I’d been planning and preparing and seeking God’s voice for months. When life took a turn in an unexpected direction, it was blatantly clear that the whisper I thought was God’s voice was not his voice at all. Most of us will “miss it” at some point. We will believe we’re hearing from God, step out in faith, and end up slamming into closed doors. Perhaps you’ve been here, too. It might be regarding a job, a relationship, or a risky venture that everyone says is crazy. Most likely, you did all of the right things. …
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How to Lean on the Lord in Disappointing Times
Do you need encouragement as you aim to lean on the Lord in a disappointing situation? Today, I invite you into our family’s world for a few practical insights on leaning on God. How to Lean on the Lord in Disappointing Times A few days before our son Caleb’s fourth birthday, I asked him what he wanted to do for fun. He requested a walk to the creek, and I threw out my plans for the day to take him to the woods. As sat along the quiet bank of the creek, I let him talk about his hopes and dreams. He was most excited about his upcoming birthday. “How…
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How to Stop Comfort Eating and Turn to God Instead
It’s 9:00 p.m. on a Thursday, and I stare at the cupboard with an insatiable appetite. I want to learn how to stop comfort eating and find my comfort in God, but when I’m honest about it, chocolate feels more tangible at the end of a long day. Several cookies, way too many chocolate chips, and an hour later, I lie in bed and ask God to help me find freedom. The heavens are silent, and I open my Bible for inspiration. What the Bible Says About How to Stop Comfort Eating My bookmark leads me to an unnamed woman in the fourth chapter of John’s gospel as she walks to…
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15 Bible Verses About Breakthrough
“I’ve started to wonder if my breakthrough will ever come,” a friend recently remarked. “I’ve done all I know to do, given my best effort, read countless Bible verses about breakthrough, and prayed for months. I feel like God isn’t listening.” We were sitting by the creek on an unseasonably warm autumn day. The firmament hung low and grey, like maybe the underbelly of heaven was brushing against us. “I don’t know why God gave me this dream and then slammed the door closed in my face,” my friend added through tears. I sat with her words and offered her space to be honest about what she felt. We’ll return…
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How to Overcome Sinful Habits: 5 Insights
Do you feel defeated as you continue to stumble into the same sinful habit repeatedly? Maybe you feel like you’ll never find victory in this area of your life. Today, I invite you to join me as we discuss how to overcome sinful habits for good. How to Overcome Sinful Habits: 5 Ways I stand in front of the cupboard and stare blankly. I’m not hungry, but this cupboard is the place where I come for escape when the kids are fighting and the walls are closing in. I admire the cheese curls and decide this is not the night to break a bad habit I’ve carried for decades. I…
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Where Is God When We Suffer?
There are chickadees at the bird feeder, and the world is quiet as we step slowly into another year. It has been a year of looking for God in suffering and pain, and I’m still trying to make sense of it all. I’ve been wrestling with the question, “Where is God when we suffer?” Last year was a challenging year for our family. We face a few shattered hopes and crushed dreams. Perhaps you can relate. Most of us will face seasons that lead us to look around and wonder where God went. Where Is God When We Suffer? That’s kind of how our last year went. If you’re anything like…
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How to Worry Less and Enjoy Life More
I’ve always been a planner and a worrier. However, I’ve been learning how to worry less and enjoy life more. Perhaps you can relate. Maybe you want to stop stressing out and savor your life, but you don’t know how to stop your mind from spiraling into worries. Today, I’ll share an insight that has helped me shift from worry to peace, and I’ll also share a list of practical ways to worry less and enjoy life more. How to Worry Less and Enjoy Life More My journey into this way of thinking began as I stood under a pale crescent moon and took a hard look at my life.…
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10 Bible Verses About the Beauty of Nature
The hills are lavender today. I drove to the lake to sit on the shore where the water laps against sand-colored stones, and the time outside renewed my soul. Spending time in nature is restorative. Let’s take just a few moments to turn to God’s Word as we study 10 Bible verses about the beauty of nature today. 10 Bible Verses About the Beauty of Nature Nature calls us away from the fast-paced lives most of us have learned to accept. Wild places create space for slowing down, making memories with the ones we love, and much more. Let’s look at what the Bible says about God’s created world. 10…
