by | Faith Lived Out
In 2001 I graduated high school. Right before my graduation, my dad called to ask if he could come.
I told him absolutely not, with a few other choice words. I was a 17-year old kid with a broken heart, overcome with feelings of abandonment and rejection.
I reminded him he was not my father and I hung up the phone.
He respected my wishes and didn’t show up at my graduation. I remember looking up multiple times to see if he was there. I thought maybe it would be the one boundary in my life he would actually cross that I would be okay with. Nope. He respected it.
(more…)
by | Faith Lived Out
Let me preface this prayer with this. I’m not interested in your judgment or ridicule as to why I’m publicly praying for John Crist and not the brave women who came forward. I’m not interested in a debate. I’m simply being obedient to what the Lord is calling me to do and remember that you have no idea what I’m praying behind closed doors. Thank you.
In light of yesterday’s tragic news, my prayer…
Lord, I put John in your hands. You long to deliver your children out of the ashes and John is in the ashes. Pull him out. Restore him to wholeness. Not because he deserves it, but because you love him. None of us deserve to be pulled out of the ashes.
(more…)
by | Faith Lived Out
Strange question to ask, I know. But… if you know me at all, well… it’s not really that strange.
I was walking through my Abide devotional and the voice behind the app asked me to visualize Jesus sitting next to me. So, I moved my feet off the footstool and asked Jesus to sit in front of me so we could have coffee together. I was picturing his laughter. His joy. And that’s when the thought popped into my head….
I bet Jesus made poop jokes.
(more…)
by | Faith Lived Out
What are you afraid of? Seriously… let’s skip past all the fluff of writing a catchy introduction paragraph to this post and just get down to the nitty gritty? What are you afraid of?
For me.. sometimes I can become so afraid of failure I can’t see straight. Other times I can become afraid of success, so I sabotage myself before I can get there. Jesus has been healing me from a deep fear of rejection for the last couple of years. I still find parts of it sneaking up now and again. And spiders.. Yes.. spiders. Stupid, stupid spiders.
What are you afraid of?
Really… what are you afraid of?
(more…)
by | Faith Lived Out
My little buddy Jackson and I have a special bond. He just turned 3 and we both often act the same age. He’s a blessing to the world and I am so honored to be in his life.
The other day we decided to go for a walk while his parents finished eating. He’s 3, so sitting for long periods of time isn’t something he’s great at. Me neither.
We were jumping off some “car stoppers” as I like to call them, because my little buddy is one brave guy. He would climb on the top, stretch his legs out and prepare to jump. When he would step up he didn’t need to hold my hand. He was strong enough to do it himself. I would stand on the stopper next to him and wait for his next move.
Something would happen, though, each time he was ready to jump. He would reach for my hand before he jumped. He wasn’t quite ready to make that leap by himself. He needed my help to stabilize him and make sure he kept his balance. As we did this over and over again, it reminded me of what relationship with God is like.
(more…)
by | Faith Lived Out, Spiritual Warfare
Meet my friend Jennifer. Well, kind of. She’s the one in the blue shirt and white shorts, leading Skeeter the dog, with her arm around me.
I wish you could’ve been there that day. They say ” a picture paints a thousand words,” and that’s definitely true with this one. I’ll do my best to bring the story to you.
It was June of 2010. I’d just finished running my first 5k race at the 2nd Annual Freedom Run. I was two months from completing a year-long residential discipleship program, where God had totally flipped my life upside down. And I was 145 lbs. lighter, both physically and spiritually. I was no longer wearing the weight of the world on my shoulders. For the first time in my life, I truly understood freedom in Christ.
(more…)
