I can still see the flashes of light, looking up toward the sky from the bottom of the pool, the way the sun played on the ripples of water. I can still see my hair swirling around like the mermaids I often pretended to be, but surely mermaids don’t thrash and flail and reach and fight the water. Surely, mermaids don’t sink like this. I can still see the bubbles…
Favorites
Three Lies That Keep Us From Serving God
Have You Lost Your Fire for Serving the Lord? Have you ever had a God-given passion? Have you ever started pursuing that passion with the skills God gave you, only to have someone or something discourage your desire and diminish your abilities? Have you ever…
(In)courage Guest Post: The Promise After Pruning
Every morning like clockwork, I would lace up my shoes, step outside as the sunrose, and take my daily walk. As soon as our state instituted stay-at-home orders last year, I instituted this ritual. With the rhythmic pounding of my feet on the pavement, I…
To The Christian Mom Who Grew Up Without Jesus
Hey, Mama. Did you grow up without Jesus? Were you raised outside the church? Did you have a non-believing mom or an unchurched dad? We have a lot in common, sister. I was raised “Catholic.” We went to church most Sundays for a couple years, I…
5 Things You Need To Pray for Your Future Daughter-in-Law
My son likes to talk about and pray for his “wife.” He’s only four, but we’ve had a number of conversations about my future daughter-in-law. Here’s what I know about her so far, according to his description. He sometimes asks me where she is and…
20 Encouraging Bible Verses to Battle Depression
In my struggle with depression, I’ve had a number of “blue” periods. Not quite debilitating, but there’s still a heaviness about me. I manage it in a number of ways (medication, diet, exercise, prayer, therapy, friends), though I have to admit, not often enough with encouraging…
Father’s Day for the Fatherless
It’s been 21 years since my father passed away. The day after my 12th birthday party. We got home from a long drive. I immediately went for a bike ride. When I returned, neighbors and paramedics crowded my kitchen, gathered around my father lying on the…
“The God Who Sees”… I’m A Hot Mess & Loves Me Anyway
Hagar called Him, “The God who sees.” He really saw her. He knew she was a slave obtained in Egypt. A by-product of Abram’s lies to Pharaoh about his “sister” Sarai. A slave given to her master to bed. Now pregnant, bitter, lonely, hated, cast…
Then I Realized… My Husband Isn’t A Coffee Machine
There are things I encounter as I go about my day. Ordinary objects. I move around them so often that they don’t even take up space anymore. I know where they are and how they feel and how they smell and where they reside. The…