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3 Ways to Gain Greater Understanding of Old Testament Books
It’s the beginning of the year and you are determined to read the Bible from start to finish. You get through Genesis, perhaps even Exodus, but then Leviticus appears. And if, by sheer resolution you get through Leviticus, you trudge into Numbers which seems like another version of Leviticus. Your determination wanes until the next year when you try again…only to find yourself once again stopping when understanding Old Testament books is confusing. Sound familiar? Or maybe it’s just me. I think I’ve read Genesis and Exodus over 10 times, before coming to a screeching halt at Leviticus. Or I’d skim Leviticus just to grow weary in Numbers because none…
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Modern Witnesses: An Interview
Recently, I had the opportunity to be featured in an interview for Modern Witnesses, a blog dedicated to spreading the stories of God’s faithfulness and inspiring women to live extraordinary lives. As twenty-first century believers, we too are called to witness – to share who God is and what he has done.
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Overwhelmingly First | An Anthem for My Journal & Soul
I opened the floral cover and paused. It shouldn’t have been a hard question, but it was. A Verse to Pray Over This Journal is what caused such contemplation. Sounds simple, right? Just pick one of the 31,102 verses from the Bible. To a girl who has grown up in church, this should’ve been an easy thing and yet it gave me such hesitation that words did not come for weeks. Why did this challenge me so? Why didn’t I just write one of my favorites? (Hosea 6:3 is one of my favorites, by the way). I was waiting for a particular verse. For a verse that the Lord hadn’t…
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30 Days of Reflection | All Points to Jesus
I challenged myself during the month of April to immerse myself in the story of Jesus. I created a reading plan and everything. I wanted to still my mind and prepare my heart for Easter. On April 1st, I began at the beginning and I had no idea all that the Lord would teach me during the 30 day period. As the month progressed, I found myself excited to read the next day’s passage. The Lord began opening my mind and digging out my ears (if you read my reflections on Day 5, you’ll know what I mean). Today, I finished. And you know what made the most impact on…
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Girl, Jesus is Better
If I’m honest, it’s been a rough week for me. I’ve felt swallowed up by my feelings. And the worst part is – it felt good. It felt good to be angry, it felt good being “justified” in my emotions. Sometimes the hard part isn’t getting out of the pit. Sometimes the hard part is wanting out of the pit. The Lord has been so kind to me in my pursuit of him this year. And yet, sin still rears its ugly head, crouching at the doorstep of our souls. Yet, in the midst of my pride and justifications, my soul whispered: “Is Jesus better?” Is knowing him and being…
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Journaling Bible Giveaway!
Not too long ago my journal pages were filled with questions. I was at a point in my life where I seemed to have every dream fulfilled. I had a husband who loved me, one I prayed so long for. I had a precocious little boy, a child I had prayed so long for. I had a great job that worked with me when I expressed my desire to work part-time. I had it made. All my dreams had come true. And yet, there was this lingering sense of unfulfillment. Such guilt sat with me as I looked at all these precious blessings from God, but satisfaction still evaded me.…
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Rouse My Soul | Encounters with God on the Dusty Road
I jolt up out of bed fumbling to turn off the alarm. I woke earlier, but decided to rest my eyes for another fifteen minutes and must have fallen back to sleep. I quietly grab my glasses from the nightstand and slip into dining room. The notebook covered table makes me smile. This is my watch-tower – where I meet the Lord in the mornings. Long before the alarm clock ever goes off, he’s already there warming the chair for me. I squint my eyes against the light and rub the blur away. My eyes may be foggy and I may have had a sluggish start, but as I sit…
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Lessons Learned on Horseback | Stay Close on the Trail of Life
Last summer Hawk and I took a trip out west for our anniversary. We hadn’t ventured far enough away to justify purchasing airline tickets since our honeymoon, so we saved and splurged a bit on a trip to Colorado Springs. As soon as I booked the trip, I started plotting our itinerary. When I discovered we could ride horses through the Garden of the Gods park, I knew it was a “must do.” Horseback riding was a first for us – other than birthday-party pony rides that didn’t really count. When we got to the stable and the instructors did a quick safety briefing, I almost chickened out. There were…
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Where Are Your Feet Taking You?
I get discouraged when I don’t feel like I’m being transformed, even though I’m trying to diligently study God’s word and desire fellowship with him. When I don’t feel different in the sense of experiencing this grand overarching mad-love for Jesus or when I don’t seem to feel him near, I slowly slide into the what-am-I-doing-wrong and why-do-I-feel-this-way mindset. After some time feeling this way, I picked up my pen and wrote in my journal to process my thoughts: I’ve been counting my experiences with God as successful and worth it when I get the supernatural feeling of closeness with him. I’ve been relying on a feeling to dictate whether…
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In My Bag & On My Table | My Favorite Journaling & Study Tools
My husband and I fondly refer to our first date as The Inquisition. Neither of us were casual daters, he had only one prior girlfriend before me and I had zero before him. We were friends for almost a year before he asked me out – so we had a good idea about each other but we still didn’t know each other in that are we compatible for marriage way. Since we were friends, I remember telling my mom that if I was home by 9ish, it probably didn’t go so well. I didn’t get home until well after mid-night. From the get-go we started asking the hard questions. As…
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Tithing Your Time | A Free Bible Reading Log
I’m a wordy. I fell in love with books in middle school. I’d check out a stack from the public library and a stack from our church library and have them read in a week. I’d return them only to leave with more stacked tall. There’s a running joke in my family when my teacher mom literally said “You aren’t allowed to read anymore books” in an effort to discipline me. It was the only suitable punishment she could think of because my nose was always in a book. This love for reading eventually led me to majoring in English at college, where I discovered I would much rather write…
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Pick Up Your Pen | The Treasured Work of a Heaven Scribe
I found out I was pregnant on Christmas. Well, sort of. The second pink line indicating a positive was ever so faint, I didn’t believe it. I swayed between hope and doubt so much so that I put the test in a bag early Christmas morning and stuck it under the tree only to have paralyzing doubt overtake, stuffing the bag deep behind the tree at the last minute until I could dispose of it without Hawk seeing. I’d already had months of hope being deferred and couldn’t allow myself to sit in the excitement without first being sure. Two days later I bought one of the digital tests –…
