To the person who won't step foot in a church... I get it. Not all that long ago, I was you. I was the person who rolled my eyes at the sight of a person praying or lifting their hands in worship. I was the person who complained when choir performances would take me into… Continue reading To the person who won’t go to church…
I didn't need to fix things or change by my own power. I simply needed to set aside my pride and my fear and allow the Lord to come into my heart and transform it. I didn't need to fight all of the battles on my own or come up with all of the answers. I needed to learn to rest in God's promises and trust Him to fight for me.
It's not for any of us to choose who is worthy of God's love. It's not up to any one of us to label someone a lost cause. Be faithful, for you never know just how or when God will radically change a heart that everyone else has already given up on.
I hated night time as a kid, and I don’t like it much now. There’s something about the dark that brings all of the scary things out.Sometimes I couldn’t put a name or face to my fear - it was just there, hanging over me in the dark. I had a hard time turning off… Continue reading Peace has a name.
When is the last time you really stepped out of your comfort zone? Have you felt prompted to do something but you talked yourself out of it? What’s holding you back? I believe more than anything else, fear holds us back. Fear of rejection. Fear of judgment. Fear of failure. Fear of embarrassment. Fear of… Continue reading Just take the step.
I keep hearing it - “I can’t wait for things to go back to normal.” “When things are normal again...” What “normal” is everyone is longing for? Seeing family and celebrating holidays together. Having birthday parties and baby showers and weddings. Worshipping in packed sanctuaries together. Having the freedom to take the kids to the… Continue reading When things go back to normal.
On this day last year, I got a phone call at work. It was a nurse from my doctor’s office, telling me that my baby girl’s genetic screening came back with a positive marker for Down syndrome. She wanted me to come in for more tests and follow up with the “high risk” doctor. I… Continue reading Choose hope.
When we pray for peace, what does that mean? When we pray for protection, for healing, for God to bless us... what are we really praying for? When we say “Lord, thy will be done,” how often do we try to define what that should look like? I think sometimes “answered prayers” can be equated… Continue reading We are not immune.
Shiloh, I pray that you enjoy being part of our family as much as we will enjoy adding you to it. Spencer, I pray that you love every second of being a big brother and that you never forget that you were our first. You made us so happy that we decided to have another… Continue reading A prayer for my children.
Right around this time 3 years ago, I took a pregnancy test in our downstairs bathroom. I was home alone when I saw the two lines on the stick. Immediately, I felt this overwhelming sense of unconditional love and intense pressure to protect. I knew my baby was just a speck at that point, but… Continue reading Trading worry for worship.
Kristen Stewart, Writer 