As Thanksgiving approaches, we may not be gathering in typical ways. Our tables may not include those normally invited, we may be grieving as we miss those who used to fill the seats, we may not have enough money to feast. Our hearts may be too overwhelmed to feel like Read more…
Did you take music lessons as a child? Did you sing in the school choir or play in the band or orchestra? Does music fill your home daily, drowning out the noise in your head? There’s something to that, you know. Researchers have found that music uniquely fills our minds, Read more…
My sister in Christ shared her weariness. She was just “over it all.” The fatigue of earthly life felt weighty and weary to her, mostly because it seemed unending. Even in her tiredness, she wasn’t sleeping well; insomnia compounded her emotional and physical weariness. Sister, don’t grow weary! Jesus came with Read more…
As a choral educator, I know the power of singing rounds. All learn a simple melody, repeat it over and over, and when the round begins, groups of people sing the same song at staggered times. I remember singing this round as a teenager, memorizing Scripture with song: Seek ye Read more…
I detest being in conflict. Relational conflict keeps me up at night. I run past conversations on repeat in my mind, ruminate on words I might say tomorrow, and kick myself with guilt for what I did or didn’t say today. When someone disagrees with me, my knee-jerk response is to Read more…
As I live with chronic illness, my body forces me to listen to symptoms of unpredictable flares. Sometimes, my symptoms force me to cease striving (Ps. 46:10a NASB), to rest, to be still, as I use all the therapies doctors suggest. My calendar and to-do lists are wiped clean until symptoms subside. Read more…
I felt anything but a healing peace in my problems. I was “wearied by the length of [my] way” (Is. 57:10 ESV) and I felt down, low, and weak. My frustration and anxiety over unwanted problems produced exhaustion. No wonder I felt no peace. I needed to look away from my desperate Read more…
Going back to school in a pandemic brings up all the feels, doesn’t it? Uncertain, weary, sad, hopeful, scared, excited, overwhelmed…simultaneously. We bravely want to transition well for our kids and health of all. On top of this, we continue to live with our financial, relational, and health challenges. We Read more…
We’re living in masks, hiding, covering up, protecting ourselves and others from an unseen virus. Emotions are running high. But what infects us from day one? Our inborn sin pervades everything (Rom. 5:12). No wonder our fallen world is infected with a pandemic and chaos. We wear masks with each Read more…
Are you experiencing a new, even desperate, yearning for intimacy with God? Maybe it’s just me, but this pandemic has given me a deeper longing. Written for those experiencing discouragement, attack, and loneliness in exile, Isaiah 35 describes my longing well…maybe it will encourage you too. Five S’s leap from Read more…
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