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What to Do When You Hit a Spiritual Slump
Are you stuck in a spiritual slump? Read these words from my recent post at Women Wielding the Word: I remember reading the words on a sun-splattered spring dawn, and I could not honestly say I related. The words went like this: “My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God” (Psalm 84:2 NIV). I want both my heart and my flesh to literally yearn – to hunger – for God, but there are plenty of mornings when I open my Bible with waning enthusiasm. A wise mentor once compared daily Bible reading to a daily bowl…
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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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9 Bible Verses to Calm Fear and Anxiety
I stare out the window in the early morning hours and pray for my unraveling thoughts to settle. I’ve been fighting fear lately, and I’m losing the battle. This morning, my memorized list of Bible verses to calm fear is far from my mind. I am alone in the darkness. Perhaps you can relate. You want to overcome fear and anxiety with God’s help, but when the darkness creeps in, you often feel alone and forsaken. We face fears about everything from what will happen if the job falls through to what we’ll do if the scan reports a tumor. How do you overcome your fear when the circumstance you…
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4 Ways to Have More Purpose and Passion in Life
I stroll down our country road as ribbons of fading daylight twirl through a canopy of maples. These lingering daylight hours offer ample time to step away and reflect on how to cultivate purpose and passion in life. Life has been full and blessed lately. Summer feels like the season of abundance. The house is filled with the noise of children. Beagles howl in the backyard. We are surrounded by blessings. These days with the kids also offer very little downtime. If I’m not preparing a meal for someone, I’m cleaning up or scooping food into a little mouth. If I’m not wiping sticky fingers, I’m cleaning apple juice off…
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3 Ways to Let Go of Regret and Overcome Guilt
Thelma and I became friends when she was 94. I showed up at the nursing home one December evening with framed photos of angels and gave them to the elderly residents for Christmas. It was a quiet act of kindness, and I had no way of knowing that it would lead me to one day learn how to let go of regret in the face of heartache. Thelma’s mind was sharp, and she was dressed like she was going to church the first night we met. Her white hair was perfectly styled, her lipstick was bursting with color against her pale skin, and she wore nylons, heels, a skirt, and…
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Help, I Feel Like I Don’t Fit in
The scents of vanilla bean body spray and cherry blossom lotion waft through the door before I even enter the room. I hear them laughing, talking about children, and discussing essential oils as I pass through the threshold. It’s my first meeting with the Moms’ Group, and familiar anxiety rises in my chest. I wonder where I’ll sit and immediately feel like I don’t fit in here. I scan the room as I wait in line to fill out my nametag. My box-like letters look like they were penned by an eight-year-old boy, while the other women etch their letters with elegant calligraphy. Awesome. Why did I not take cursive…
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3 Questions to Help You Find Your Calling in Life
Have you been trying to find your calling in life and coming up empty? You’re in the right place. Let’s jump right in and talk about how to find our God-given callings. How to Find Your Calling in Life I remember where I was the moment I decided I wanted to be a teacher. It was my junior year of high school, and I was sitting on a grassy hill watching mist ascend over viridescent fields. It was my favorite season of the year, the season that seemed to awaken every part of me, track and field season. Sitting on the wet earth, I searched my life for the places…
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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 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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How to Put People First and Stop Chasing Performance
I went to the woods because I was tired of chasing the bottom of a never-ending to-do list. Tired of trying to measure up, improve my craft, and perform. There was a quiet whisper in my heart, a whisper that nudged me to put people first, and it was time to take a long look at my life and discern what was no longer working. As I walked toward a cattail-thick swamp, my mind drifted to the words of the well-established literary agent who assessed my writing not long ago. She told me my craft and my content were good, but I needed to build my platform and expand my…
