anxiety faith and trust God Gospel hope
Deep, deep love of Jesus casts out fear
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
anxiety faith and trust God praise singing strength
A crescendo of praise into weariness and worry
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
anxiety faith and trust God Gospel praise singing suffering
Singing the Gospel Into Your Stress
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
faith and trust Gospel grace hope praise singing strength suffering
Reset of trust: Jesus is our present and future hope
“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
faith and trust God hope praise singing suffering
“How long, O Lord?”
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
anxiety comfort faith and trust God hope praise singing strength
Fortress in the storm
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
God Gospel grace praise singing
A Wilderness To-Do List
I am a planner. As a teacher, I love planning backwards from goals, creating objectives and experiences for students. I love day planners, to-do lists, lesson plan templates. I look forward to events and gleefully plan details. Now, lists are shredded with canceled, ended plans and I’m left with an Read more
anxiety faith and trust God Gospel praise singing
Singing Praise to God into Anxiety
“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