Walking with God in Mordor
There was a common purpose in the lives of the members of the LOTR fellowship: to slay the evil monstrosity tied with the ring and to subsequently further good with its destruction. They faced challenges along the way. Pain seemed so much closer than pleasure. Darkness seemed to blanket the light… Categories: pain, struggling, hope
Movin’ From One Year to the Next Without Regrets
We often carry those pressing regrets that crush us either under silent shame or the out-spewing of verbalized complaints, noting our “if only’s” and “what could have been’s” that had the potential to alter our past, swiftly alleviating our regrets of the present… Categories: regrets, past, future, determination
Does God Want to Be a Kill-joy?
Many of us default to perceiving God as a Divine Master of the Skies surfing clouds in search of the next soul to extract joy from. But does God have a magic straw, stronger than those Slurpee Straws at 7-11 that intentionally sucks up any happiness we may have? How do we view God when bad things happen? When everything crumbles, what does that mean about His character?… Categories: struggles, faith, questioning
Yearning For Miracles
Have I left you yet? Then the other words return as a whisper, just wait expectantly.The problems are so weighty. Ones we never thought we would experience. I want the parting of the sea. The waters to turbulently gush to my side left and right, fish flopping on dry ground…Categories: Miracles, Our Story
The Love So Deep
Visible monuments of love can easily be googled and gazed at in the form of images and corresponding calculations.We were both waking up with tea in hand when the topic of underwater exploration and mountains somehow arose. The question soon came: what is the tallest peak in the world and could the deepest part of the ocean cover it? And Google said:
Take Heart
The world is bombarded with information and as the saying goes “knowledge is power” but what kind of power? Words do have power. … Categories: Identity, Courage, Overcoming Fear
Why Did God Put Me on This Mission?
It was one of those Floridian days that felt like a tropical paradise beckoned you in your very backyard. The breeze was lightly flowing, causing the palm frawns to flutter in the trees, while the glowing sun’s rays were pleasantly diffused by the foliage surrounding us… Categories: darkness, light, mission, endurance, steadfastness, history
When the Promised Land Isn’t Heaven
Have You Ever…? Have you ever caught yourself saying those few little detrimental words disguised as hope….Categories, hope, heaven, perfection, life
Handling Disappointment in a Way That Won’t Damage Us Further
I used to think I did fine at handling disappointment. You just kind of roll with the punches and realize life isn’t fair, and “move on.” But what if you’re stuck in the dead of winter with no signs of spring to blossom forth from the snow? The mantra to…
Is There Ever a Purpose For Sin? Pt. 1
Living in a world fettered by sin, we have all fallen short of God’s glory, and we have all disobeyed God by feeding our fleshly desires. But is there a purpose for this- is there a purpose for the pain someone else’s sin has inflicted upon us? Is there a grander purpose for the sin we have committed ourselves?…
Is There Ever a Purpose for Sin pt. 2: David’s Story
We all know the story. Instead of going out to battle as kings were meant to, (1 Samuel 11:1) King David refrained from the battleground to stay in Jerusalem. A bathing beauty captured his eyes, and instead of squelching his flesh, he succumbed to it and allowed lust to drink away at his soul. He had to have this woman. The thoughts…
Jesus: Success Redefined
I was talking with someone on the phone a couple years back about the feeling of purposelessness that’s linked with chronic illness. They too, had a health condition that greatly restricted their livelihood, yet I couldn’t help but hear a positive lilt to their voice which could have only been present…
Lord, Teach Us to Pray
I looked out the car window as palm tree lined medians became a blur matching my own blurred thoughts. I then looked at my husband, Michael, who was driving when the words came, “My mind feels so numb that I just don’t know what to pray anymore.”
Body Damage: 15 Ways the Church Hurts Itself
I know you may be seeing the title of this post and thinking the thoughts, “Yay, let’s get the church! They’ve hurt me, so I want to hurt them back!” But this isn’t the intent of this series. The purpose of the series Body Damage: When the Church Hurts Itself is to address church wounds…
Body Damage: The Church Hurts Itself By Forsaking Vulnerability
I will start by going way back, all the way back to the beginning of 2008. At the time, my husband and I were engaged and were serving in our local church. This was the church that I grew up in and I had been there for nine years or so…
8 Hope-Filled Life Hacks from Fixer Upper
Both Michael and I have fallen in love with the HGTV show, Fixer Upper. Yup, I outed my husband. He’s a dude who watches HGTV. At first, Michael watched the show to placate me, then we both realized after just several episodes that the magic of the show wasn’t in the crisp white shiplap, it was in the hosts, Chip and Joanna Gaines who…
10 Books for Women Who Want to Grow in Their Faith
You’ve been there. Glaring at the Christian section at Barnes and Noble, overwhelmed by the choices in front of you. All you’re looking for are good books for women who want to grow in their faith. This is a good list of basic books for women who want to grow in their faith, but in no way is it complete…
The piping hot coffee coupled with the fragrant aroma of freshly baked cookies was presented in front of the men and women I was positioned in front of. Their wrinkled faces peered at me…
I had tears filling my eyes over an ampersand sign embellished on a tee. Yes, you heard me correctly, one of those squiggly “and” signs. To save my dignity slightly, they were the type of tears that were stopped before they threatened to spill onto my cheeks…
A Review of Detours by Tony Evans
I know you’ve been there. You had your goals mapped out on paper and maybe even projected onto a vision board with pretty pictures of what life was going to be in five to ten years from that date…
Christian Quotes on Compassion and Suffering
“A compassionate open home is part of Christian responsibility, and should be practiced up to the level of capacity.”― Francis A. Schaeffer “You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”― John Bunyan
Is the She Reads Truth Bible a Good Fit for You?
I remember thinking years ago that it was a near sin to love beautiful things. Maybe loving beauty just made me vain? That was until God brought…
There’s something about personal stories of faith that captivate our attention. Maybe it’s because they remind us that heroes of faith…
A Look at the Millennials
Millennials are now our largest generation, birthed mainly by the largest generation before them, the Baby Boomers. With a whopping 78 million
The Light of Messy Hope
We didn’t know when we first created “Inkblots” that my health would demand my body to stay in a pitch-black room or else intense neuro issues would strike. We were literally and figuratively in the dark…
Using the Serenity Prayer in Our Everyday Life
If you’re anything like me, you may think of the word serenity and immediately remember Frank Costanza, George Costanza’s zany father from Seinfeld going through a fictional self-help material based on the very real faddish trend…
A Simulation of Pain: You’re Not Alone in Your Suffering
I had never wanted a phrase almost devoid of meaning to resurrect itself more than in this season of my life…
The Church Hurts Itself By Majoring on the Minors
When we major on the minors, We judge each other unfairly and thereby weaken relationships. Majoring on the minors leads to us judging our brothers based on what we think are the important issues of our day…
Hope for When “This Too Shall Pass” Never Comes
“Sarah, he said he really thought things were going to improve for us- that he knew God was going to change our circumstance for the better.” My husband was turned towards me in the kitchen three years ago…
When God is Silent
“I don’t think God would allow the same thing to happen twice. Why would He allow you to get so seriously sick again when you’ve already endured that testing once?…
I‘ve spent time over the last month collecting some of the best voices on chronic illness and pain from the lens of Christians enduring long-term health issues. The words these wonderful people have to offer are filled with such astounding wisdom. Take a listen…
Your Message Will Be Attacked
Whatever message you have on your heart will be attacked. If you feel called to be a crusader of hope, you will come to doubt hope’s very existence. If your mission is to rehabilitate the homeless, you’ll eventually come to wonder if they even want you around. If your passion is to see marriages transformed…
Body Repair: 5 Ways to Repair Church Wounds
Is it possible to heal from church hurts? Will the hurt ever go away from Christians who wounded me? You may be asking yourself a string of these questions. And while the healing is never…
How to Heal From Family Dysfunction From a Biblical Worldview
We’ve already talked about the basics of the family roles in dysfunctional families here and delved deeper into how these roles influenced life with chronic illness here. Now, we’re delving into the problem-solving portion from a biblical worldview. Which I don’t know about you, but…
Body Repair: Healing Through the Three Doors of Prayer Method
We talk about the real hurts of the Church, but we don’t often think about the hurt the shepherds and their families endure. When I was eleven, my parents planted a church that became true family to us. I saw my parents hug the hurting…
What if I Don’t Feel Healthy Enough to Read the Bible?
What if I don’t feel healthy enough to read the Bible? Can I just skip reading it until I feel better? That’s the temptation I’m left with…
Rewriting Your Broken Story
It can feel like our lives are a book with pages torn or climactic chapters that extend much longer than it feels is necessary…
The CSB Study Bible for Women
So what makes The CSB Study Bible For Women