One minute, things are fine. The next minute something suddenly changes. A hassle, a broken, a phone call, a mess, a tragedy. Suddenly, life changes and things are not fine. But are they good? Somehow? It’s ALL good If God is Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all (Eph. 4:6 ESV) and He Read more…
Do you hear pulsating fear everywhere? Do you notice an underlying “what if…” in spoken words and unspoken thoughts? I had a close soul-sister friend who could notice. She was the type of friend who saw my underlying “what if” as I talked. Her cancer brought her into eternity with Read more…
She didn’t want to get out of bed. “I am so weary. I need something greater than myself because I am too weak to deal with life today. I’m so worried about how I’m going to be able to manage things. I honestly just don’t want to be here and Read more…
I call it “micro-stress” when I chat with students. We laugh about it, but there is a quiet knowing and empathy about its compounding challenge. You know…that underlying anxiety caused by constant infusion of horrific on the news. That incessant loud of needing the next “like” on social media, of Read more…
In this world broken by sin, are you feeling particularly shattered and weak? Suffering and sin are a born-into-this-world given (Genesis 3)…but these days? They seem a specially appointed, global, weighty, exponential hard. A prayer for today Oh Lord, we need Your strength in our weakness. We ponder Read more…
“There is no future hope. The doctors say so. Not for continued life on this earth, anyway.” https://laurihogle.com/about/ “There is no hope. The news anchors say so. There is no future hope.” “Things will never be the same again. Everyone says so.” “Everything is crashing and life plans seem totally ruined Read more…
The hits. Just. Keep. On. Coming. All at once. It feels Job-like. When I was sick, I often cried prayers of despair and lament. https://laurihogle.com/about/ They filled my tears, especially as I lay in hospital beds missing my little children and husband. Despair and Lament How long, O Lord? Will you forget Read more…
I am not at rest today. Weary (Lam. 5:8), pain-filled (Job 30:17), wanting escape (Ps. 55:6). I am quarantined in my house, but don’t feel restfully at home. I need re-turning, returning and rest. In Western music, home is often a musical ending. The final “authentic cadence” arrives at a Read more…
Watching the radar, we knew it was coming. Time to inventory TP, bread, milk, canned goods. The storm bled red all over the screen. Hunker down in our basement. Exhausting, stay-up-all-night fear. Immense interruption of normal life. Storms are chaotic, noise-filled, demanding constant attention and threatening our minds with imagined Read more…
“When I am afraid, I put my trust in You” (Ps 56:3) I’m honestly really battling anxiety. Putting on positive for others, holding their anxieties, loving, caring. As a teacher, wife, parent, friend, sister, daughter. But my chronic illnesses make me understandably afraid to be around people. I have no Read more…