How do you find peace when you are not in a very peaceful state of mind? And where do you find the words to talk to God about peace when it feels like your whole life is spinning out of control? In a world that is filled with stress and anxiety, it can seem that peace...
Life on this side of heaven can be challenging at times. I know that isn’t breaking news for most of us, but what might surprise you is that a battle is going on around us. There’s an enemy that comes to steal, kill, and destroy, and we must be aware that this is...
Years ago, way back in the ’90s, Mark and I went through the Experiencing God study by Henry Blackaby. To say that study changed our lives would be an understatement, and I still recommend it to people today! I learned so much about how God speaks to and guides us,...
Most of us have experienced being misunderstood at some point in our lives. Honestly, it has happened to me more times than I can count and each time it is simply heartbreaking. This often looks like being misheard, mischaracterized, or misrepresented by family,...
Do you ever find it hard to stay steady when life gets hard? Have you struggled to experience joy? Do you feel like it’s difficult to find reasons to have hope? When life feels heavy, it can be so tough to recognize that God has not left us on our own. I know...
If you are anything like me, then you long to see Jesus working in the day-to-day, mundane parts of life. But let’s be honest: oftentimes we are so busy and so anxious that it’s hard to see His work around us. While He is at work, the enemy is at work to keep us blind...
Mark: When life gets busy, connection in marriage is usually one of the first things to go. Jill: When life is moving faster than is healthy for our relationships, it’s easy to minimize, both internally and externally. We internally minimize when we say to ourselves,...
I remember sitting in the church nursery nursing my firstborn. Another mom and I were visiting as we rocked and nursed our little ones. “Are you praying for her future spouse?” the other mom asked me. I was surprised by her question. I had never thought to...
“This is what it comes down to: Do we trust Him?” I love that quote from today’s conversation. Have you experienced worry, anxiety, or fear in this last year? Are those things taking up entirely too much space in your heart? For most of us, the...
Do you struggle to know how to pray? Do you have trouble finding the time to talk with God? Do you wonder what to talk to God about? Do you trust God, but still worry? Or when you’re in a group setting, are you super nervous and find yourself hesitant to pray...
Our #MarriageMonday posts are written to help couples dig deeper, connect intentionally, and to be more equipped to handle the everyday challenges and realities of marriage. Prayer is such an important part of our relationship with God, as well as our relationship...
This week is a hard week for our family. My daughter, Erica, is saying goodbye to her husband of just a little less than a year. Kendall is deploying to Iraq for a year. He’s part of the clean up crew that is bringing a close to U.S. troops in...
I’ll never forget the day our son-in-law, Matt asked us if he could marry Anne. As very-nervous-Matt stammered out the words after a few minutes of small talk, this thought went through my mind: “Oh my goodness, this the young man I’ve been...
Last week I gave you some ideas for spending some extended time with God. If you missed that post click here. Today I want to talk about prayer. Prayer is simply talking with God! Nothing fancy needed…just talk to God like you would a friend sitting across from...
Sitting in doctor’s waiting rooms gives a person plenty of time to read. This morning I was reading the in the book of Colossians and a verse popped out at me to pray for my children. I immediately prayed through it inserting each of my children’s names. I...
