Several years ago, I decided to run a marathon. I mapped out a training plan and followed it religiously. Sometimes, I really looked forward to my runs. My legs felt strong, and my mind was free from mental blocks. Other times, my legs felt like lead, and I struggled...
When I was twenty-four years old, my husband of two years graduated from seminary and became the senior pastor in a rural church in Missouri. We packed up our home in Tennessee and moved to begin a new life as a full-time ministry couple. It dawned on me about the...
Find True Rest The holidays can prove especially exhausting for many of us. Even in a strange year when our calendars are slightly less full than they have been in years past, we might find that our good intentions lead to frantic busyness rather than reflection and...
Legalism or Laziness For every article or book you read praising the practice of spiritual disciplines, you’ll find another decrying a regimented spiritual life for fear of legalism. It’s true that legalism—thinking we can attain a righteous standing before God by our...
What the Lord Requires You can track everything these days. Calories, steps, BMI, books you’ve read (down to the page number), hours of screen time, hours of productivity, REM cycles of sleep, Instagram likes, and anything else you never cared to know before...
On Tuesdays, I confess my sins at a coffee shop. Every week, I meet with a group of four women to discuss Scripture and to share where I need help fighting my sin. This week was no exception. The coffee shop was fairly busy for a Tuesday lunch hour, and because it’s...
Full Hands How can you hold on to the spiritual disciplines that feed your faithfulness when your hands are more than full? How do you freely confess your failure to treasure Christ while not giving yourself a free pass to disconnect from him? What steps can you...
Seasons of Apathy Many Christians experience seasons of spiritual apathy when the heart seems miles behind what we know to be true in our minds. We might love the Lord with our minds but struggle with disconnected hearts. Sometimes these droughts of the soul are the...
Dr. Dane Ortlund has gained a reputation for writing Christian books that are solid, edifying, and gospel-centered. His newest work, Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Suffers, is no exception. Ortlund uses Matthew 11:29 as the basis for his...
Walking the Path of Lament I called my ninety-two-year-old grandmother recently to catch up on life. She has suffered from an unusual bleed behind her eyes and abruptly lost most of her vision. The doctors aren’t sure when, or if, her sight will return. After our...