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My Favorite Prayer Guide of 2022: Hidden Manna on a Country Road
Cinnamon-colored sycamore leaves fall slowly, surrendering to the earth. I hold one in my hand, and it covers my flesh like a glove. For an instant, my mind drifts away from the problems of work and home. Peace cloaks me, and I think about the book that’s been serving as my prayer guide this autumn. In her new book Hidden Manna on a Country Road: Seeing God’s Daily Provision All Around Us, Sarah Geringer writes: “When I feel the overwhelm of a bigger-than-me situation, I know it’s time to hit the gravel road and pray it out, surrendering it so I can experience God’s peace. I also know that whether…
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Girl to Girl: A Life-Changing Mother-Daughter Devotional Book
We have huge news to share with you today! This might be the biggest news I’ve shared throughout my past six years of blogging! Drumroll, please! Eleven-year-old Bekah and I wrote a mother-daughter devotional book together! Last winter, Bekah saw a mother-daughter devotional written by an older mother-daughter pair sitting on our kitchen table. “We should write a mother-daughter devotional!” she declared. “That sounds great, babe. Brainstorm some ideas, and we’ll get started,” I suggested. I hate to admit that I never thought I’d hear another word about the big idea. Our New Mother-Daughter Devotional Book Well, 259 pages later, we are thrilled to tell you that our new book…
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8 Hope-Filled Bible Verses About the Storms of Life
We all face storms in life. If you feel like your ship is about to sink, let’s dig into God’s Word together as we uncover eight hope-filled Bible verses about the storms of life. Be sure to read to the end of today’s post for a free devotional to help you weather life’s most difficult storms. Bible Verses About the Storms of Life Twenty years ago, I boarded a plane in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvnaia and flew to Anchorage, Alaska. I spent the next three months working in a deli outside Denali National Park and traveling across the state on the weekends. One weekend, I took a ferry through the fjords near…
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5 Ways to Rest in God’s Presence: A Review of Just Rest
Snowflakes fall like a quiet benediction on a hushed spring morning. I awaken feeling groggy after another night of tending to coughing children. I’m desperate to rest in God’s presence this morning—to let his love wash over me and fill the empty places. Opening Melanie Redd’s new book, Just Rest: A 90 Day Devotional Journal, I read the following words: “True rest for the soul, however, comes from one place only—and that involves walking in the good way. This is the path we choose when we walk close to Jesus. The pathway to rest is found in Him alone.” We live in a culture in which hurry and hustle are…
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Why Today Is Going to Be a Good Day
Above a scrim of wispy cirrus clouds, a hawk cries out as it soars upon some unseen current. For the first time since autumn, we slept with the windows open last night. Awakening to a cacophony of birdsong and the melodies of God’s created world feels like a gift given directly from his hand. “Today is going to be a good day,” I whisper. Smiling, I climb from the sheets, make the bed, and think of these eight simple words as I brush my teeth and greet the three children who await me downstairs. I repeat these words as I make the coffee and prepare breakfasts for everyone: “Today is…
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I Surrender All (Sort Of): A Review With Reflections
Daybreak sings a solemn song over a cross-stitched blanket of nutmeg, ash, and ivory. The skeletal arms of the maples still hold their white cloaks, and just a thin strip of charcoal gravel delineates the arched center of the country road. I take it all in from the window as I soak in Michelle Lazurek’s new book I Surrender All (Sort Of). Michelle and I met at a conference a few years ago, and I was drawn to her sweet, sincere spirit immediately. I would have picked up Michelle’s new book even if I didn’t know her because the title feels like a summary of my walk of faith: Surrendering…
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Devotional Time Tips to Stir Your Passion for God
The windows were blotted with raindrops the morning I walked to the window and prayed, “God show me how to do devotional time with you in a way that revives me.” I sat with my Bible and prayer book, but I felt tired and apathetic. Familiar practices had grown monotonous, and it was time to breathe fresh wind into my devotional time. Reading my Bible felt more like homework than an opportunity to connect with a precious loved one. I lacked focus and desire in my prayer life. My Ignatian prayer guide was no longer leading me to meaningful encounters with God. After noticing these shifts in my soul, I embarked…
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A New Year Devotional to Help You Start Strong
Do you enjoy reading from an Advent devotional throughout December? If you’re like me, you hit a wall when Christmas comes and the devotional ends. You feel a bit lost and aren’t sure what’s next. Or maybe you recently decided you’re going to start the new year by renewing your commitment to spend time with God. I have fantastic news. Throughout the past few months, I’ve worked hard to create a New Year devotional called Mornings With Jesus to help you connect with Jesus every morning for the next 31 days! Why I Wrote This New Year Devotional I spent years reading my Bible and practicing a morning devotional routine…
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31 Prayers for Refreshing Daily Joy
A couple of years ago, a friend I knew from the online writing community reached out and invited me to a phone interview. We both write about encountering God in ordinary places, and it seemed like a great fit! Little Aiden was three months old at the time, and I happened to schedule the phone interview for the same day I was trying to sleep-train my little buddy. As my friend Emily Saxe interviewed me, I was overwhelmed with stress as I listened to my baby boy wail in his crib. I’m not sure I offered one cohesive thought that afternoon! But Emily was full of grace, and she managed…
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The Teens in Your Life Need This Book: Transforming Your Thought Life for Teens
I spent almost a decade teaching teens in a local public high school. Throughout those years, I also served as a youth leader and mentored dozens of teens through the tumultuous journey of adolescence. I wish Sarah Geringer’s book Transforming Your Thought Life for Teens had been available throughout those years! This book is a follow-up to Sarah’s book Transforming Your Thought Life: Christian Meditation in Focus, released in 2019. I was powerfully impacted by Sarah’s book Transforming Your Thought Life and appreciated the way Sarah was relatable and yet also pointed me back to the truth of God’s Word. When I heard she was writing a follow-up book specifically…
