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How to Be a Woman of Gentle Strength
Our little boy turned six last week, and he’s been asking me to spend the first moments of the day lying in his bed as we discuss kindergarten. I’ve been learning to live with a gentle strength that puts his needs above my desires. For this reason, I set aside my coffee every morning and follow him up the stairs. We lie in his bed and talk about raising his hand in class, responsibility, and why he should take his coat off when it’s 80 degrees in his classroom. Important things. I’ve been thinking about living a more grace-filled life lately, and I know pursuing this kind of life means…
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3 Unconventional Ways to Worship God While You Work
You are completely exhausted as you drive home after a long day of living out your calling. You know there are four loads of laundry waiting to be folded. The floors are filthy, and dinner waits to be cooked. You’d give just about anything to lie on the couch in front of the TV instead of diving into the work. The last thing on your mind is construing ways to worship God in the middle of your work. Perhaps the idea of worshiping while you work feels like a pursuit reserved for women who don’t have full schedules – or kids. I feel you. I see you. I’m standing with…
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What Does It Mean to Lay Down Your Life for God?
Have you ever wondered what it means to lay down your life for God and others? Jesus spoke the following words to his disciples: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13, NIV). Perhaps you want to know how to live this out. I invite you to join me in my parents’ living room shortly after the birth of my third child, and we’ll explore what it might look like to lay down your life. How to Lay Down Your Life We’re watching the little one stretch his legs in his blue bouncy seat when my grandma says the words that…
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Finding Your Calling From God: A Surprising Truth You Need to Know
Does the idea of finding your calling from God feel too subjective or difficult? I spent years trying to perfectly discern God’s calling for my life. Meanwhile, I missed the most obvious part of his calling. I invite you to join me as I coax our youngest child to sleep, and we’ll talk about finding God’s calling. Finding Your Calling From God The dusky light of summer’s slow fade into autumn makes its way through partially drawn curtains, and I read until the darkness is too thick to see the words. Setting aside the book, I gaze at the tiny boy in my arms. He seems to encompass most of…
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How to Love Like Jesus When It Doesn’t Come Easily
A warm wind rustles the maples and sounds like clear water flowing over granite. I’m taken back to a different season. Twenty years ago, God began the deep heart work of teaching me how to love like Jesus, especially when it doesn’t come easily. Working at a summer camp will teach that kind of lesson. God placed me in a quiet canyon where wild Wyoming skies brought adventure on tepid summer afternoons, and campfires beneath the stars on chilling summer nights formed lifelong memories. He placed me among dozens of varied personalities. We melded together like one large, dysfunctional family just trying to keep the peace and keep out of…
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How to Live for God Every Day: 4 Ways
The iridescent glow of a half-moon makes shadows on the picture frames across the room. For just a moment, I let myself get lost in the faces inside the frames. I remember taking the photos of children in a far-off place. It was a life-changing season, a time of learning how to live for God every day. How to Live for God Every Day Maybe you can relate. Maybe you look back to a different season of life, a time of fulfillment and passion for God. Or maybe you’ve never stepped into this way of living. You want to learn how to live for God every day, but you don’t…
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Inspiring Scripture About Serving in Quiet Places
The night before our youngest was born, I took a walk in a thundershower. Something about the way the heavens came pouring out like a flood resonated with the past 40 weeks of my poured-out life. I’d been digging into Scripture about serving in hidden places and clinging to God with all my heart, but I still felt spent. I didn’t really mean to go walking in a storm that night. The radar called for spotty showers. 30 percent. Beneath a thick canopy of maples, the early evening sky looked dusky, even on the brink of Solstice. A low rumble of thunder in the west was the only sign that…
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God Has a Plan for You—Even When He Seems Silent
We awoke to a fresh inch of snow on the lawn on the first day of April, and it felt like one more day tacked onto a never-ending winter. Whether you’re facing a long winter or enduring a difficult season that seems like it will never end, it can be hard to hold onto hope. You need to know that God has a plan for you, especially when he seems silent. Most of us don’t wait well. Waiting for a dream to come to fruition or a difficult time to end can be deeply discouraging. God Has a Plan for You While You Wait King Solomon said it well in…
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How to Know When God Is Leading You: 4 Ways
Have you ever wondered how to know when God is leading you in a new direction? Discerning the difference between our desires and God’s voice can be challenging. Today, we’ll talk about finding direction from God and following his lead. How to Know God is Leading You “If God really speaks to us, then I’d sure like someone to explain the ways God speaks to us,” a younger friend declared as we walked beneath a canopy of blossoming apple trees. There was a hint of frustration in her voice. My friend had been pursuing God and sincerely believed she was following him into a new career endeavor. Her dream seemed…
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Live Yielded to God for Sweetness of Spirit
Hello, friends! I’m honored to share a guest post from my dear friend Kelly Baker with you today! Kelly’s words point to truth, all while offering practical insight for following Christ in the midst of full lives. She is a prayer partner, encourager, and like-minded sister on mission. Enjoy this challenge to cultivate a sweetness of spirit in your life. I was challenged by Kelly’s words, and I trust you will be as well! ~~~ I recently swapped stories of current family trials with Stacey. She declared, “Oh motherhood is such a death to self at times!” What a true statement! I wanted to crawl under my covers and hide…
