“New Year, new you!” I know I’ve heard that a lot in early January over the years. But the truth is, being made new is a much longer process than just the flip of a calendar, moving from one year to the next. I can see ways God has made me new, even in the past year. It’s been slow and steady progress, with setbacks and challenges. But it is nice to look back and see how I’ve grown into who I am right now. Saul Became Paul Thinking about being made into a new person makes me think of
Be still and know that I am God. –Psalm 46:10 I have a reader board hanging in my kitchen, and I put that verse up on it 6-9 months ago. I don’t even know why I picked it at the time–maybe because I thought it would be a good verse for my kids to internalize? But, as it turns out, it’s been one that I’ve been working on internalizing. It’s almost like God knew I was going into a period of focusing on being still (go figure). I’ve needed to slow down. Breathe. Trust in Him. Let Him calm my
I’ve been trying to think about what I put in my mind lately . I have limited time to watch or listen to things, so there’s an element of trying not to waste precious minutes or hours. But I’m also trying to consider: how is this going to benefit my life? It may seem silly to think a podcast or TV show may change your life, but it does! Whatever I think about and dwell on affects how I feel, my opinions, and decisions I make. Those little choices add up to who I am and what my life looks
When I have a busy, long day, sometimes the last thing I want to do is open my Bible. It’s not that I’m running away from God, but it takes more thought when I’m already tired. And it’s yet another thing getting in the way of just doing what I want to do. I spend all day doing everything for everyone else–by the time I have a few minutes to myself, I want to just do what I feel like doing. However, I’ve noticed a pattern: when I’m more consistent about turning my focus on God, rather than myself, I
I am incredibly blessed. On paper, I have more than I ever thought possible: A funny, wise, loving husband. Three wonderful children. A career I really enjoy. Supportive parents and siblings on both sides of our family. Friends near and far. And yet, life is hard. As amazing as my husband is, we’re both flawed people and marriage takes work. As wonderful as my children are, they’re also flawed and have years of maturing ahead of them. As much as I enjoy my career, it can be mentally exhausting; some days it completely drains my capacity for making decisions and
Like most busy moms, I feel like it’s hard to find peace. The kids are running around making messes, I have a million things to do, and the chaos exponentially increases. The more I try to do it all, the more I fail, and the more I need to remind myself I can’t do it all by myself. I think that’s why 2 Peter 1:2 resonated so much with me recently. “May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” I really like how Priscilla Shirer presented it during the Going
If I were to ask your kids what you tell them the most, what would they say? Mine would probably answer with phrases like: Have you emptied the dishwasher yet? Why aren’t you dressed? Get off your sister’s head! While those are things I need to repeat over and over, I hope they’re also hearing the more positive messages I make an effort to try to repeat: I love you so much. I’m proud of you. God created you and designed you intentionally. He doesn’t make mistakes. Jesus loves you even more than Daddy and I do! I tell them
I didn’t used to think I was a selfish person. Then I got married. All of a sudden, my life decisions weren’t all about me anymore. I needed to include someone else and learn to put his desires before my own. After a few years of marriage, I thought I’d learned how to not be selfish. Then I had kids. All of a sudden, my time really wasn’t my own. I needed to sacrifice basic things like sleep and hygiene over the needs of this tiny, helpless person that couldn’t do anything for themselves. Then I did it again, and
When I’m afraid, I freeze. This isn’t just fear about my safety, either. I stand still and wait, unsure how to proceed, when I’m worried I might say or do the wrong thing, too. I think this is a fairly common response, which is reassuring–but not very helpful. In his book Chasing David , I really appreciated how Rene Schlaepfer used David’s response to Goliath as an example for how we should approach fear. As a bonus, it’s a related mnemonic device: FEAR . F: Find out the Facts In 1 Samuel 17 , David sees Goliath challenge the Israelites
Flashback to Early Marriage Twelve years ago I experienced God’s sense of humor coming out through his perfect timing. It was the middle of the 2008 recession. My husband (Matt) and I had just gotten married, moved out of state, and were living in a one-bedroom apartment on one part-time income. Money was very tight, so we pretty much lived on rice and frozen chicken breasts. One day in particular I was complaining about it, wishing we could just go out to eat and enjoy a nice restaurant meal, and Matt said, “You know, you sound like the Israelites grumbling