The beginning of March slipped away quickly. Friends were in town [which was wonderful], but my time to read was limited. But towards the middle of March I was able to set aside more and more time to read. And I've noticed a slight difference. Life feels just a little bit slower. My mind just a little bit clearer.
Why write when tomorrow you will likely forget my words? Why write when quite possibly no one will read these words? Why write when there are so many other, more qualified, more educated, more articulate writers out there?
Including the book I recommend to EVERY college student and young adult I know and some helpful books for pastors and pastor's wives!
2018 was such a difficult year. But I can’t help but point to God as the good and faithful author of a story that I would never have wanted to play a part in unless he had written me into it. As we were walking (or maybe I should say limping) through 2018, I found myself frustrated as I doubted God's character time and time again. Was he really good? Was he faithful if he walked us through difficult seasons?
Yes it's freeing to be "out of context." But as scary as it is to press into relationships... It's also a truly beautiful thing to be known.
Short reviews of the books I've read this month!
How do you articulate to fellow believers, to people who look to you as a "strong Christian woman," that only weeks ago you sat on your bathroom floor, barely able to breathe except to utter the words to God or whoever might be listening, "why don't you love me?"
Oftentimes our study of Scripture is clouded by our preconceived opinions, our experience-driven feelings, or our false understanding of who God is... I need a method that forces me to slow down and see Scripture for what it is and what it says, not what I want it to say.
The Bible is big and at first glance it can seem intimidating. I mean, it's 66 books that were written thousands of years ago by really smart people under the inspiration of God. So how do we even go about studying it?
Sometimes it's hard to set apart time to be in the Word. Sometimes even when you set aside the time to be in the Word, it's hard to focus [or to stay awake] or to even understand what you're reading. So what do you do?
Once again I have the privilege of sharing some of my husband's writings. In this post Matthew vulnerably articulates some of the most difficult parts of our first year of marriage.
Sometimes it is so hard to follow and love You in the midst of a broken world and a broken me. Sometimes I think life would be easier if I didn’t have to feel the pain of a world and people without You. Sometimes I think life would be easier if I didn't realize the extent of my own sin.
I never really thought of myself as an independent person. I've always been fairly introverted, yes, and have learned [aka been forced] to step out on my own quite a few times, but I never really knew how much I craved independence and freedom. Until I got married.
Discipleship. It's a word we throw around in the church a lot and it's a word that is actually not explicitly written in the Bible. So what is DISCIPLESHIP?
I pray that I would experience beautiful moments. Not post them. Not even take a picture of them. Just capture them in my mind. Remember them. I pray that I would remember the exquisite beauty in the mundane. The wonder of what is happening right here in front of me. In my very ordinary life. I'm praying these things for you too. Could it be that maybe the most important moments are the ones that aren't documented? The conversations that aren't recorded? The sunsets that aren't photographed? The kitchen dance parties that aren't videoed? The flitting in-between moments that you can't capture? Could it be that disconnecting is precisely how we'll reach deeper connection?
