It's really hard to know what to say or do when someone in your ministry loses a loved one. It feels awkward when someone you love is hurting, but you're not able to ease their pain. You want to say something meaningful, but the right words seem evasive. When I was 12, my stepmom died … Continue reading 3 Ways to Minister to the Mourning

Almost my whole life, my dad and I haven't had much in common. He was gregarious, I was shy; he loved to go out, I preferred to stay home; he was angry at God, I wanted to serve in full time ministry. I was bitter at him for seemingly "not loving me for who I … Continue reading There is Only Now

There's an old saying that goes, "You can't go home." Whoever said that was wrong. That person assumed that people could not change. CS Lewis put it this way: "You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending." I'm going to tell you a story … Continue reading Come Home, Daughter

If you were to walk into my kitchen, you would see a dollar bill that is ripped in half stuck onto my refrigerator with a magnet. That dollar bill has followed me to 3 different houses thus far since I've received it. I doubt the person who gave it to me even remembers giving it … Continue reading Spent For Jesus

I decided to get a little crazy. I decided to attempt a 24-hour no-complaining challenge for myself. Now, I've done limited ones before: no complaining to my husband, no complaining at work, no complaining at church, but I had never tried a full-on no complaining rule about everything all at once. I failed. Miserably. The … Continue reading The Struggle with Complaining is Real