Hope On The Road Less Traveled
My cousins and I were enjoying a carefree summer day as we often did at my grandparents house in Wisconsin—building sand castles, swimming in the lake, and pushing each other off the old wooden raft that floated a good distance from the dock. I was young, but I remember the details of this particular day… Continue reading When The Waves Threaten to Take You Under
“May your compassion come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need”(Psalm 79:8). It’s a prayer that I’ve often prayed over the past two decades of trials. As the waves of tribulation seemed to relentlessly beat upon me and my family, it’s a prayer that has also been riddled with doubts over God’s… Continue reading Fighting for Faith When Doubts Abound
Newsletter Something on my mind…“Everything in my life always goes wrong! I know God can prevent it if he wants to, so it seems like he enjoys inflicting pain on me.” Tears welled up in my teenage son’s eyes as these words of discouragement and borderline despair flew out of his mouth. I caught myself… Continue reading When Nothing Makes Sense, Remember These Three Things…
The past several years, God has been stripping away the frills of earthly success, independence, and self-confidence in me. Like Elijah, I have felt hidden by the Lord, severely tested by difficult and painful circumstances. I have been in a battle for faith in response to God’s silence and the relentless furnace of affliction. My… Continue reading A Story of Redemption is Being Written in Your Life
I admit, I often battle discouragement in my pursuit of health. I am beyond grateful for the extensive treatment protocol that I’ve been allowed the opportunity to pursue this past year. And yet, while it gives me great hope, the process is still brutal--with no guaranteed outcome. I’m confident that this journey won’t be wasted,… Continue reading There Is Purpose in This Place
Long-term chronic illness in myself and my kids has made life difficult. The traumatic experiences and heartbreak of a neurodivergent child has made life heartbreaking. A devastating injury that led to a degenerative ankle and the inability to do so much of what I love anymore robbed me of a piece of myself. Losing our… Continue reading Does Anyone REALLY Understand What I’m Going Through?
I have no clear recollection of a life without pain. Although it didn’t dominate my life as a young child as much as it does now, for roughly thirty years, I’ve been housed in a physical frame that’s baseline is one of physical pain and illness. When physical affliction is a way of life, there… Continue reading Pain is a Taste of Hell; Jesus’s Comfort is a Taste of Heaven
Some days, your body is weary of pain. Some days, your mind is weary of the inner battle no one sees. Some days, your heart is weary of this sinful, sorrowful world. Some days, it’s all three at once. And when it is, it can be hard to lift your eyes in hope. Peace feels… Continue reading When the Road is Long and the Way is Weary
Suffering. How can one small word hold so much complexity? Even beyond the complexity of what the circumstances entail, whether or not you believe there’s a God, and whether you believe he’s good and sovereign, will completely change the way you interpret the word. Even in the Christian community, the way each interprets the pain,… Continue reading When Hard Places Become Holy Places
Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash “Mom, hurry up and get home,” Carter blurted out before the car door had fully closed. “What’s going on?” his mom asked. This was the third day in a row that Carter seemed rushed to get home after school. “I don’t ever want to use the school bathroom during… Continue reading Walking in Faith in a World of Fear
Set Apart 