THe Kindling of Comparison

They thought they deserved more not because of their work, but because of their work compared to someone else who got paid the same.

Not in Charge

We’d been talking about it throughout our time in the US. Distance helped us think about it slightly more objectively. It would be an investment to be sure, and we were slightly worried it wouldn’t work. But other people had had so much success with it, didn’t it have to work? We were both even getting ads for it.

Can I Be a Christian if I Struggle with Anxiety?

The Bible literally says to not be anxious (Philippians 4:6-7), so can I be a Christian and struggle with anxiety?

Passages of Encouragement

I don’t know about you, but things have been crazy lately. Here are some passages that have been encouraging to me lately, and they bear repeating — from my heart to yours: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be […]

Every Gift

A few years ago, after memorizing the book of James, I decided to go back over each verse to extract a personal lesson from it. As in every book of the Bible, there are some verses that have an obvious and immediate application, whereas others take more time to think and pray. One of my […]

What the God of the Old Testament Wants

I remember sitting in his office. I remember a church member peeking in, “Pastor, there’s someone on the phone for you.” He told her to take a message because he was busy, was having an important conversation. That conversation was with 17-year-old-me. I treasure the memories of those hours. I wish I remembered how he […]

Missed Experiences

I am endlessly fascinated with the Israelites. I know the stories — especially the big ones: Passover, Red Sea, 10 Commandments, lots and lots of disobedience and captivity… But there’s something about the details that bring new light with nearly every read. In Deuteronomy 5, Moses repeats the 10 Commandments in the hearing of all […]

When the Devil Tells the Truth

Like a typical teenager I struggled with FOMO throughout high school: the fear of missing out. But mine was more information focused than experiential: I didn’t want to miss out on knowing anything. I wanted to know who was dating who, what official and unofficial events were happening, and what crazy things were happening in the […]

Prayer: How to Start Praying

When we are excited about starting something new, we tend to jump into the deep end. This isn’t necessarily bad — sometimes it’s good to start there! But other times jumping straight into the deep end simply overwhelms us and makes us not want to be in the water at all.

Prayer: Why is it so Hard?

I am an all or nothing person — I am 100% in or will not do it at all. This is true in pretty much every aspect of life: I’m working out 6 days a week or zero, I keep to my daily to-do list completely or don’t even look at it…you get the idea. […]