beauty for ashes.
In order to fight for healing following the death of my daughter, I had to take the word of God and hide it deep within my heart. In the early days of my journey through grief, I felt the Holy Spirit prompt me to pray for one of the Mercy Teams at Victory World Church
bring it to Him.
The Lord woke me up this morning with these words from Him heavy in my spirit: “I cause the rain to fall on the just and unjust the same. I do. So, the problem you have is not with them - it’s with Me.” Yea… HEAVY. Bitterness doesn’t just arise in us from being offended only by
those that wait upon the Lord
After we lost Phebe, I had a vivid dream in which I was running in a marathon. As I was running, I passed by people to my left and right, and my eyes brightened as the finish line came into view. Excitement began beating within my chest, then it happened - I fell. I
when obedience means sacrifice, part II
I ended Part I with a simple question that I’ll paraphrase here: What happens when obeying God is a sacrifice to us? There was a moment in my life a few years ago, when I asked God to take away anything that was hindering my relationship with Him. Since He’s full of grace and mercy,
when obedience means sacrifice, part I
At some point during our Christian walk, we’ll either hear or read Samuel’s haunting words to Saul in 1 Samuel 15:22-23 (emphasis added): 22 But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice?Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.23 Rebellion is
when the bottom falls out.
The last 18 months have held both the best and worst moments of my entire life. I asked a couple friends today, “how can you have both the best and worst year of your life in the same year?" At home this afternoon, I watched a message in which Francis Chan read this: "2 Dear brothers and
our work is not in vain.
Youth ministry is hard work. You pour and pour until you’re empty, then look around and are sometimes disappointed at your results. Last night, I overheard a girl in the restroom say, “it’s JUST praise and worship” as she explained to someone on the phone whey she wasn’t in the sanctuary at the present
the circle of life
It’s crazy how I slept on someone’s couch for nearly a year, began complaining saying, “I need a bed!”, got a bed now and my own place, but choose to sleep on the couch more than in the bed… I seriously don’t get myself sometimes. I guess it’s kinda like the whole “going back to what’s
timelines.
“So it took seven years to build the Temple.” 1 Kings 6:38b It feels like it’s been a lifetime that I’ve been praying for a particular situation. I was greatly discouraged after talking to one of the people that I’m praying for, but then God laid the above scripture on me this morning. Solomon was
encourage yourself.
I love when I open my journal to the same date from a previous year and find exactly what I need to read in that moment. It’s almost like my younger self is encouraging my older self… This time last year I was preparing to move from New York to Atlanta and I didn’t have