Hope On The Road Less Traveled
Job has been a kindred spirit to me for much of my life. Not out of desire, but out of necessity. As I’ve tried to grapple with deeply painful realities that appear to be at odds with who God says he is, I’ve had two options: go the easy route and deny God’s existence and… Continue reading Words Spoken Out of Grief, Not Unbelief
Do you ever feel like you just aren’t enough? Do you feel like there isn’t enough of you to go around and, no matter how much effort you pour out, there's always something lacking, somewhere you've fallen short, or something that hasn't panned out as you expected? I sure do. Some days, I wonder why… Continue reading Five Reminders for the Weary and Burdened Soul
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
I slowly worked my way to the window and opened the blinds for the first time in over a week. My world had shrunk down to the next time I could take more pain meds, the next time I had to force down a little food and fluids to keep the ER at bay, and… Continue reading What’s the Point if the Pain Has no End
Recently, we were discussing at Bible Study what it means to seek God‘s face, as it says in Psalm 27:8: “You have said, ‘Seek my face.’My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” As I listened, what struck me most was the importance of distinguishing between seeking God’s hand and seeking his… Continue reading Seek God’s Face Before You Seek His Hand
There are moments in life when you find yourself standing in a metaphoric wilderness. You believe God can provide, and you see him providing for many around you. And yet, as the heat of the sun beats down on you and the streams before you begin to run dry, you begin to wonder…”Is God really… Continue reading He Will Create Rivers in the Dry Wasteland
New Year's resolutions. To some, that concept invigorates. To others, it's crippling, overwhelming, and a setup for discouragement. For many years, I’ve pondered what positive changes I’d like to pursue as a new year approaches. The nature of January first brings with it a sense of freshness and renewed hope. And with that, it inspires… Continue reading Faithfulness: A New Year’s Resolution Rooted in Grace
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, and a battle of faith in response to God’s silence and the relentless furnace of affliction. My natural assumption of… Continue reading Don’t Lose Hope – God’s Writing a Story of Redemption In Your Life
"May your compassion come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need" (Psalm 79:8). This is the prayer that I've been praying with every frail ounce of my being right now. It's a prayer that, I admit, is riddled with thoughts of doubt and weariness over God's apparent silence to our pleas for… Continue reading Fighting for Faith When Doubts Abound
There is no escaping the painful realities that surround my family. Our own Red Sea looms before us while the relentless enemies of physical and mental illness, financial strain, layered losses, and temptations to lose heart, pursue us from all sides. While crushing circumstances involving physical and mental health, finances, marital pressures, and loss have… Continue reading God of the Impossible
Set Apart 