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How to Stop Worrying and Trust God in Tough Times
I’ve been a worrier for as long as I can remember. Throughout the past decade, I’ve been on a journey of learning how to stop worrying and trust God with the parts of my life that are important to me. Maybe you can relate. It’s not easy to keep from falling apart when it looks like your world might come crashing down at any given moment. Maybe you lost your job, the relationship finally fell apart, or the wayward child still hasn’t come home. It’s not easy to figure out how to stop worrying and trust God. Perhaps you prayed and pleaded for God to bring a dream to pass. …
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Lean Into Grace and Experience God’s Healing and Freedom
What do you do when your life lacks the healing, freedom, and joy you long for—when you feel stuck and don’t know where to turn? In these moments, God invites us to lean into grace as he works in our lives to accomplish what we cannot do in our human strength. I have exciting news to share with you today! After years of hard work, intensive editing, and much prayer, I’d like to introduce you to my new book, Lean Into Grace: Let God’s Grace Heal Your Heart, Refresh Your Soul, and Set You Free. Here’s a quick description of what you’ll find within the pages of this raw and…
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7 Characteristics of a Transformed Life
Are you searching for evidence that God is working in your life? Today, we’ll look at 7 characteristics of a transformed life. I invite you to join me as God transformed me through a challenging situation. Then, we’ll take a closer look at what it means to be transformed by God. 7 Characteristics of a Transformed Life The clock reads half-past two, and the moon hangs high in the inky black of a December night. I’m lost in deep sleep, and I have no idea that I’m about to be transformed by God through the encounter that unfolds. At first, I’m not sure what stirred me from sleep. It takes…
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When Christmas Is Hard: 5 Insights to Give You Hope
Snow falls heavily like flour through a sifter, and I’m alone with only my thoughts and the hushed whisper of flakes gathering on frozen earth. As I sit beneath the hemlocks, I’m reminded of a season years ago when our family was suffering at Christmas. It can be challenging to know where to turn when Christmas is hard instead of celebratory. When Christmas Is Hard Our difficult Christmas came after a year filled with illness, disappointment, and deep grief. We’d just watched a lifelong dream go up in smoke, and we weren’t sure where to turn next. We were grieving, and we were having a hard time embracing the Christmas…
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Letting Go and Trusting God: 8 Reasons to Trust Him
This morning, I was startled to find the wood line painted grey. Nevertheless, the bleak scene matched the state of my soul. I sat by the window and wondered, What is God doing in my life? Letting go and trusting God felt nearly impossible. Above the hardwoods, a lavender cloud arched its back into the shape of a question mark. Perhaps the heavens were questioning God’s purposes as well. Later in the day, I took a walk beneath the naked arms of the maples, oaks, and sycamores. I let my mind trace the footprints of a handful of recent disappointments—disappointments that felt far heavier than a dismal shift of seasons. …
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Read These 10 Bible Verses When You Feel Like No One Cares About You
Above the tree line, the alpine grasses shiver in the wind while a pika no bigger than my fist eyes me from a rocky alcove. I’m 20 years old, and I’ve been climbing mountains all summer while running from a long list of mistakes. I know my family loves and cares about me deeply, but a quiet thought whispers, You’re all alone, and no one can help you. Perhaps you can relate to this thought. Today, I invite you to soak in the following 10 uplifting Bible verses when you feel like no one cares about you. Read These Bible Verses When You Feel Like No One Cares You might…
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15 Scriptures to Destroy the Works of the Enemy
Are you searching for powerful Scriptures to destroy the works of the enemy? Let’s dig into God’s Word for 15 powerful Bible verses to help you overcome spiritual attacks. Speak these verses out loud when you sense you are under attack. Satan cannot read our minds, but he submits to the authority of God’s Word. Scriptures to Destroy the Works of the Enemy The year I started writing words for the world to read, things began falling to pieces all around us. The kids were constantly rundown with various viruses. There were financial strains, serious health scares, and much more. We faced spiritual attacks without reprieve, and we were worn…
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Give It to God: 5 Ways to Give God Control
A midsummer drought slows the creek to a trickle and darkens it to the color of black tea. I sit by the water with a friend, and we talk about hopes, dreams, and the prayers we desperately want God to answer. We talk about how hard it can be to surrender control—to “give it to God” and trust him with the outcomes in our lives. I wonder if you can relate. Maybe you’ve been chasing a dream that hasn’t come to fruition, and you’re not sure how to embrace your calling while trustfully giving it to God at the same time. Perhaps you’ve been asking God to mend a broken…
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When God Closes a Door, He Opens a Window—or Does He?
A scrim of periwinkle clouds hangs low in the morning blue. I stand at the window and admire the scene with an aching heart. The thrum of disappointment beats in cadence with my pulse, and I think of an often-repeated adage: “When God closes a door, he opens a window.” I’m not sure who said this first, but in my experience, it’s not always how life works out. When God closes a door, it often feels like being locked in a dark room with no clue of where to turn next. I’ve experienced this more than a few times, and I suspect you have, too. We set our goals and…
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Falling Behind in Life: Permission to Be Where You Are
If you’ve been reading my words for any amount of time, you know how often I write about slowing down and cultivating rhythms of rest. I thought I was an expert at slowing down. Then I picked up Jennifer Dukes Lee’s book, Growing Slow, and her words stopped me in my tracks: “We need permission to be where we are.” Tears filled my eyes as I recognized an underlying sense that I was falling behind in life. Falling Behind in Life Yes, I thought as I read her words. I do need permission to be here—right here, right now. And so began my journey into giving myself permission to be…
