This week I have the great privilege of welcoming my friend Valerie Murray, writer at Cord of 6, here for the #SummerSizzleBlogHop. This beautiful lady has so much wisdom to share. I have learned a great deal from her as I've been an avid reader of her blog for a couple of years now. This essay that she is going to share with you today, on prayer, is one of my favorites!
Read MoreI'm happy to welcome Lori Schumaker, who writes at Searching for Moments, to share with you today as part of the Summer Sizzle Blog Hop. Lori is a precious and dear friend who has what seems to be an endless supply of compassion. She loves people and she loves pointing them to Jesus. I believe her words will be as much a blessing to you as they were to me.
Read MoreIt’s easy in these modern times to know a lot about a person without actually knowing them. Scrolling through my Facebook feed the other day, this truth stood out starkly. I noted the many people I had only a surface level acquaintance with. Often, I knew where they went on their last vacation, what sports their kids played, where they worked, etc.- but that’s not the same the thing as really knowing them.
Read MoreOn this particular day I sit in the silence and let the wave just crash over me. If it was an actual wave it’d be enough to drown me but it’s not that type of wave.
It’s a wave of overwhelm that floods my soul.
It threatens to pull me out to the deep if I don’t find something to cling to. It wants to drag me to the place where fears overtake and hope gets washed away.
Read MoreI thought I was prepared for that first winter in Seattle. It rained all the time, of course. I knew to expect that. I could adapt to gray skies and rain. I determined to make the best of it by buying everyone in my family some bright, happy colored rain boots in those first days after our big move.
Read MoreFear grips tightly. I‘ve known the daily struggle to throw off the chains of fear. I’ve learned to pray through these times. I focus my mind on that which is true and of good report. I meditate on scriptures, which remind me to trust in the Lord with all my heart- and my faith is made stronger. Fear is replaced with peace.
Read MoreThe gospel, which encompasses the story of creation, the fall, our redemption, and renewal, is God’s story. The most wonderful news is that we’re invited into this story.
Read More“Christ, who said to the disciples, 'You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,' can truly say to every group of Christian friends, 'You have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another.” -C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves
Read MoreIt’s a feeling I know well….wanderlust. This is strange because I can also be a homebody, a woman who craves routine and needs quiet solitude on a frequent basis.
"Things like wall colors and candles mattered to me more than I had guessed, and it felt freeing to admit it. I wanted to sink into the unpredictability of a cross-cultural life, yes, but I also wanted a bona fide home. This was a season of refinement, of acknowledging there were multiple sides to me that were equally true. I was infected with an incurable sense of wanderlust, but I was also a homebody.
I matured into adulthood when I acknowledged this truth." -Tsh Oxenreider
