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. […]

The ________ of Control

I’m honestly tired of reading articles and reflections about this spread of a deadly virus. I’m even tired of writing them. But here we are, me writing another. I think I’m tired of it because I’m tired of thinking about it. I’m tired of it taking up space in our hearts, robbing us of time […]

How to Live by Faith (on the hard days)

I absolutely hate romantic comedies. Actually, I hate any kind of movie or show that tries to get me to feel something. People who don’t know me very well assume it’s because of my appearance of confidence and unshakeable resolve that I find these pieces of emotional media annoying because of how emotional they are. That’s almost […]

Everest’s Pain

Who knew you could learn so much about the heart of God just from having a puppy for six days.

In Times Like These: a Virtual Care Package

As an intensely introverted person, I love being alone. Furthermore, I’m a homebody, so I love not having anywhere to go and having plans cancelled. That said, there’s something about mandatory or “highly-recommended” staying home that sucks the enjoyment out of it. I don’t know what your situation is like right now. Maybe you’re at home […]