by Anonymous Ever since we got married, I dreamed of Christmas with children.I love Christmas. Always have. Partly because my parents always labored to protect us from materialism by focusing less on the presents beneath the tree and more on stuffing the season with traditions like trimming the ... read more
when fear and anxiety produce tunnel vision
I like to imagine myself in a Jane Austen novel--engaging in witty banter with a handsome member of the landed gentry, whirling around a ballroom into the wee hours of the morning and taking trips to Bath. But if I’m honest, I find myself identifying less with an Austen heroine and more with one of ... read more
Songs We Put On Repeat In Hard Times
I couldn't read because light hurt my eyes. Screen time was out of the question. I couldn't even sit up. I could only lay there thinking of all the things I needed to be doing. But every minute I kept still was another that helped keep my baby growing safely inside me.I knew eventually the ... read more
how to look at loss when fear strangles
At noon on a hot July Friday, my husband, Devin, and I both had routine appointments scheduled with our dentist. After my appointment was concluded, I stood up from the dental chair with cleaned teeth and a clean bill of health. The dental assistant led me to the chair where Devin was still ... read more
Do You Pray for Him?
“Once upon a time …” I love stories that start that way! And this is a true story:A hundred years or more ago there lived a preacher called Charles. He was a young man, but he was blessed by God with great spiritual wisdom and granted the pastorate of a large church in London. Among his ... read more
How to Trust God Even If He Says “No”
Oil glistened on her forehead as the elders prayed. Their requests rose to Heaven along with those of hundreds of saints, begging God to heal her physical body.For my precious, beloved Aunt Dee-Dee was dying. Spreading from her uterus, cancer viciously conquered her body. After months of ... read more
Real-Life Love Stories to Give You Hope While You Wait
Why do I love reading love stories that really happened? Is it the part of me that enjoys real butter, homemade bread, chicken soup from scratch . . . or the fact that a little suffering creates a great big desire for authenticity? Most of all, I think it’s the fact that true stories show me another ... read more
“You are loved with an everlasting love…”
“‘You are loved with an everlasting love,’ that’s what the Bible says, ‘and underneath are the everlasting arms.'”If you, like me, grew up listening to “Gateway to Joy” on the radio every morning, you knew the next line was going to be, “This is your friend Elisabeth Elliot.” That soft, deep ... read more
Knowing God As Father
You wouldn’t mind going to the dump with us, if you could see the views. On the left, we pass McWenneger Slough, which almost always has an aluminum fishing boat on it. The highway makes a sweeping curve to the right, before you feel like you’re going to run straight into the Rockies. Fields of ... read more
your purity is not your dowry
I was born in 1992. I wasn't a teenager until 2005, which means I narrowly missed the biggest "purity" era. I never attended a conference surrounding the topic of abstinence, made a vow in front of my youth group or was awarded a piece of jewelry symbolic of my commitment. My parents did things the ... read more
