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Start Your Day Happy With This 20-Second Routine
The alarm sounds, and it’s been less than an hour since I last laid eyes upon the digital numbers. In fact, I believe I saw these red glowing numbers every hour throughout the past night. What do you do when the idea of learning to start your day happy feels entirely unrealistic? I hear a little voice outside the bedroom door. In the room next to me, tiny legs kick hard against the crib mattress as the youngest considers whether or not to cry for more milk. I pray he returns to sleep. How to Start Your Day Happy I’m praying for little Aiden to return to sleep when a…
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5 Secrets for More Peace in Life
Dusk was just beginning to fall when my husband began building a small campfire in the backyard. We’d been talking about ways to uncover deeper peace in life, and he bought the fire ring because we’ve always found campfires peaceful. Sadly, nothing about bundling all three kids into winter gear felt like an invitation to greater peace. Nevertheless, when the scent of wood smoke wafted toward the house, I pulled out the mittens and started bundling the youngest. I had no way of knowing it at the time, but that little fire ring would become like a sanctuary: a place to slow down, unplug, and be present with each other.…
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Seven Secrets for Deeper Joy in Life
It’s an unseasonably warm Thursday afternoon, aspen leaves covering the ground with a golden blanket—kind of like they’ve absorbed every ounce of joy in life and put it on display for the world to see. I rush through the aisles of the discount grocery store, filling my cart to the brim as other shoppers scurry to get in front of me. I’ve forgotten all about slowing to live the kind of life that breathes, laughs, and loves. When the last loaf of bread is scanned and placed gently on top of my pile, I push the cart to the counter where toddlers sit and elderly ladies pause to pack their…
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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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8 Reassuring Bible Verses About Patience
Most of us are waiting for something. We’re waiting for dreams to come to life, prodigals to return home, and babies to sleep through the night. Some of us are waiting for God to heal our bodies or the bodies of our loved ones. Waiting on God is never easy. Let’s dig into some reassuring Bible verses about patience together today. Bible Verses About Patience The Bible has a lot to say about waiting on God and being patient. 1. Romans 12:12, ESV Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. We all face troubled times in life. Meanwhile, God calls us to press through these times…
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How to Stop Being Miserable: 7 Negative Mindsets That Might Be Stealing Your Joy
I awaken to a twisted knot of sheets, and it’s clear I’ve been wrestling all night long. No part of me wants to get out of this bed and step into my life today. I want to stop being miserable in this season, but I have no worldly clue of what to do about it. Most of us have been here. You wake up to the buzzing alarm, and you have absolutely no desire to return to the same old job in the same tiny cubicle to perform the same fifty tasks in an endless cycle. Or maybe the baby cries two hours before daybreak. You just can’t see starting…
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Why It’s Okay to Lack Satisfaction in Life
It’s a spring-like winter day, and I offer the kids a trip to visit the calves at the neighboring farm. I’m not really thinking about satisfaction in life, but our time under open skies is about to reframe my perspective on winter and on life in general. This time of year, the once-lush fields are dingy with winter. Corn stubble blankets hazel earth, and the verdant clover is drab and beige. We walk beneath grey skies, and from some precisely placed break in the clouds, a fiery sun blazes coral as it slips toward the horizon. We’re walking westward, and it seems we’re chasing down the light. “The sun sure…
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3 Practical Ways to Cultivate a Deeper Relationship With God
White light breaks through smoky billows of fog. Climbing out of bed, I admire the scene out the window and ask God to help me be more aware of his presence throughout the upcoming day. I’ve been seeking a deeper relationship with God over the past few months. I know that going deeper includes becoming more aware of what he is doing around me. Sadly, I tend to overlook his presence as I push through my days on autopilot. This is not how I want to live. I’m tired of rushing through my moments, wishing away long days, and living in survival mode. How to Have a Deeper Relationship With…
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How to be Happy with What We Have
Today I’m welcoming a writing friend as a guest blogger. While welcoming guest bloggers to my site isn’t something I’m regularly pursuing, Daisy and I met long before I ever imagined I’d have a blog, and her words have been an encouragement to me. We met through Grove City Alliance Church, and Daisy passed her role as the Prayer Shield Coordinator onto me a few years ago. We reconnected this spring, and it’s an honor to share her words with you today. Daisy is the published author of Homespun Faith, a compilation of devotionals. She writes on her own blog at homespunfaith.com. How to be Happy with What We Have…
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How to Live for God and Find Deeper Joy in Life
The rhythm of the elliptical is like a cadence keeping time with my prayers. I pray while I exercise. Today I’m praying for single-minded focus to help me live for God in a world so full of distractions. I stare at a beautiful landscape background on my computer while a worship mix stirs my soul. I’m listening to Israel Houghton’s moving rendition of “To Worship You I Live” when a question startles me from my daze. How to Live for God I think of Paul’s words: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21 NIV). The song prompts me to consider what I live…
