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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…
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Refresh Your Soul: 15 Creative Ways
Do you long to refresh your soul but feel unsure of how to do this in practical ways? You are in the right place. Today, I invite you to join me in the woods as I step out of my everyday routines to refresh my mind and body. Then, we’ll talk about practical ways to refresh your soul, even if you don’t particularly enjoy the woods. 15 Creative Ways to Refresh Your Soul Last summer, I took our five-year-old daughter, Bekah, to the woods for her first overnight backing trip. “I don’t think most mothers take their little girls into the wilderness on backcountry camping trips,” a friend remarked. “But…
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Go Ahead and Wear Your Fat Pants: How to Love Your Body the Way it is
Don’t pretend you don’t exactly which pair I’m talking about. I have them. You have them. They sit folded in the bottom dresser drawer, and we only break them out when our winter waistlines increase, in week seventeen of our pregnancies, when going to visit our grandmothers, or when we just want to be comfortable for once! Yes, they are our precious fat pants, and if you’re like me, you have a love-hate relationship with these pants. I’m learning to embrace the skinny jean trend. My favorite thing about skinny jeans is that the bottom of my pant legs don’t drag on the wet cement of parking lots, and they…
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How to Be Satisfied in Jesus When You’re Struggling in Life
The lake is flat and grey today. The surrounding hills roll lavender beneath an ashen sky, and I pray for just a glimpse of blue overhead. I’m here because I long to be satisfied in Jesus, especially when the winter season feels like it might last forever. I close my eyes and ask God to speak to my soul. I want to know how to be content when the landscape of my days seems desolate. A startling truth settles upon me as a red-tailed hawk cries out to its Maker: I can spend all day seeking an emotionally riveting encounter with God by this water, and I may or may…
