How to Fail at Language School (Or Anything Else in Life)
The reality is, there are times when we fail. Sometimes it's because of things beyond our control, but if we are honest with ourselves, a lot of times it's because we haven't prepared. Or we've been prideful. Or we're too concerned with our appearance to internalize change.
The Stages of Missionary Life
So you wanna know what it's really like to be a missionary? Well there's a lot to it, but here's a glimpse inside the process of the beginning of a missionary journey...
Dear Single Girl (An Open Letter)
All those youth group sermons where you made lists of the qualities of the man you would marry - did anyone tell you that you can have a full, abundant life following the path God has laid out for you without waiting?
What to Get Your Teenage Daughter for Christmas + Peanut Butter Dream Bars
She had filled the pages with the recipes we had been raised on. Hot corn casserole from Thanksgiving dinners with the Padgetts. Mamaw's spicy potato soup that Dad still requests at every opportunity. Vinita's monster cookies that she made the dads for their early morning fishing trips. Grandma Marie's apple pie.
What is More? - A #GivingTuesday Guest Post
How much could we do for the kingdom of God if we just had more? That is what I was asking God. I needed more because I wanted to do more for the kingdom. I was asking for more money, really. I wanted to get out of debt, live with financial breathing room, and be able to give more back to God’s work. I asked for more.
On Grief.
Some days she is there to remind me of favor and blessing. She sometimes slips in where I least expected her to remind me how very - lucky is not a strong enough word - lucky I am to have had something so wonderful, and it must have been quite wonderful to grieve it so strongly. Sometimes she holds my hand and won't let me forget beautiful things.
Sustenance in the Storm
But I believe this story tells us something about the character of God. We can't always understand why we must face difficult circumstances, but we can be sure that He will sustain us. He will nourish us.
I Don't Have a Patchwork Heart.
I don't have a patchwork heart. Because the constructs of my heart are not dependent on man, or men, or circumstances of my life. The beating of my heart and the strength of its muscles are because I find myself in Christ.
Why I Don't Post About Politics
When we rant and yell about things we hate, we deepen the divide between Christians and non-Christians and even between ourselves and our brothers and sisters in Christ. I want to be known by the things I love, not the things I hate, and I want to share with you the things we agree on, the things we both have in common.
To Women in Ministry
And people will argue with you, confrontationally or passive-aggressively. And it will hurt your feelings. And people will use gender-exclusive language and they will refer to pastors as "men" and you will be invited to pastor's wives events even if you are single, but not to the pastor's events. And you may not see yourself represented on the platform or around the conference table.
This is Church
I told her that I was thankful for her. I told her that I needed her, that the church needs her, that we need to learn from her. I told her that there are things about Jesus that she understands that I can never understand, and that I envy her that. And we gulped in awkward silence as tears threatened to spill from our eyes.
Today I Remember (Good Friday)
Today I marvel at a love that says that even if you never did anything right, and even if you waited too long, and even if you ruined everything for yourself, the cross is for you. Today I remember that my own sin was enough to require blood, just as the thief's was.