It’s hard to say exactly when it happened, or perhaps if it’s happened to you, at all, but if it has happened, and you find yourself feeling not blissful about Christmas, then raise your hand and let’s start admitting our weird feelings. That feels better, doesn’t it?   And if you are in the camp that…

It’s that time of year where reminders of the ones we miss lurk around every corner. A song, a scent, an empty seat at the table. I can spot a big red Christmas bow, and I’m transported back to the last time Mom helped me decorate my tree. Not all of us need a reminder…

“He was choking. And he almost died. But he’s okay.” I was on the phone with my dad, barely able to get the words out about what I had witnessed. *** Planning to Press Post Around 2:00 pm that afternoon, I was putting the finishing touches on a blog post while a contractor repaired our back porch….

What do we do when we don’t know what to say? When there is so much dust swirling in our heads that we can’t think straight to see straight to step straight? What do we do when the words won’t come?  You, yes, you, with your host of questions. You, yes you, waiting with bated…

When I saw the first leaf fall, it was still the dog days of Summer, and it reminded me how quickly new seasons sneak up on us.  A week or two passed, and yesterday was already the last 8:00 p.m. sunset, with each new sunset occurring two minutes earlier than the last. And here I am…

A day without Mom is too long. But five years? My breath forms a tight fist in my gut. Five years. Mom has been gone five years. At this point, my grief is a kindergartener. It no longer needs carried around every moment like an infant, though it can’t be ignored. I may not bleed every…

Christmas Day is approaching! My mere writing that statement causes some of us to sit up a little straighter with breathlessness. How is a season meant to worship the One who won us eternal rest strangely marked by restlessness? It can be perplexing, I agree. But where distractions abound, so does mercy. Every lie December…

When my grandad died at the rich age of 93, I didn’t appreciate how much I’d think about his life. It’s unsurprising that I miss him; he and my grandma pursued me from a young age—showing up at my events and reaching out to me. Even in high school, I would stay weekends with them….

It felt like a more normal Christmas when the calendar turned to December. And all the traditions and holiday happenings were gradually rocking me into a cozy holiday slumber. I wondered if four Christmases without Mom might make the sorrow less jarring, and I welcomed what time can do to pain. But when our puppy…

My Word document sat empty for an hour while the cursor blinked back at me. How long can I stare at this laptop screen and type nothing? I did everything I could to avoid sitting quietly with my laptop and working on my latest writing assignment. I was uncomfortable sitting in the awkwardness of not…

When I went to the store recently, much of the parking lot was blocked off in a large square reserved for a construction project. After finishing shopping, I began to pull away in my vehicle when I saw a man maybe 15 yards away waving his arms at me to stop. “Does there happen to…

Mom’s Christmas décor sat in a rubbermaid in the corner. Dad had brought Mom’s decorations to me last year, but I lacked the headspace to unpack them. In moments of longing for Mom’s hugs—I turned to something tangible, left how she left them. Lifting out Mom’s garland, clutching her favorite Christmas ribbon, that matched the…

How did He keep going? Paralytics.Poverty.Disease ravaged bodies.Demon possessed.Defectors.Religious frauds.Injustice.Oppression.Sin.Evil.Death. If Christ needed to withdraw to desolate places to pray, why wouldn’t we? Turning from media and turning to God isn’t turning away from their pain; it’s the surest way to enter it. We cry out, O Lord. “But he would withdraw to desolate places…

Many consider Psalm 88 the darkest of them all— My eyes are dim with grief. … Darkness is my closest friend. (Psalm 88:9, 18.) And yet curiously, the very next Psalm breaks open with— I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever. (Psalm 89:1.) It’s very strange how loud the love of Jesus is…

When my Christmas cards didn’t print right this season, I tried to see it as an opportunity to discard some self-imposed pressure.  But my dryer has been in disrepair for weeks now, and my kitchen faucet, too—after breaking in half 10 days ago. And this was on the heels of the sick-kid merry-go-round, full of fevers…

I love to encourage you with biblical writing. But the best encouragement you will ever receive is the ultimate encouragement of the Gospel. I love you too much to not let you hear about the One who loves you most— A holy God loves us so much that He sent His one,  sinless Child,  Jesus…

Last weekend, I made a three-hour drive to Cider House orchard & venue to speak to women hungry for the Lord. And it stirred some needed encouragement in my bones. The same bones that feel bruised these days because so many are grieving.  Every day, I hear of new pain. This year, my close friend…

I could tell you my personal testimony about my journey with Christ. I could tell you that I accepted the Lord Jesus as my Savior at age six. I could tell you I’m thankful to have been reared by two Jesus-loving parents. I could tell you those parents raised me in church. All thanks be…

A few years ago, Mom came limping into the room, leaning on her new walking stick. It was the first Easter after being diagnosed with an aggressive neurodegenerative disease, and she was trying to make the best of it. Just months prior, she had driven her car for the last time. The woman who spent…

You want to find yourself? The world is urging you to do so. As if recreating and controlling your life will bring you peace. It won’t. You want to find your life? Then lose it. Lose every inch of it in Jesus Christ. That is where your freedom is. Because egos buried in Christ cannot…

It’s just a square on a page of a calendar with a number in it.  But it was my first birthday without her.  And on that calendar square, there’s something about the silly cheering our moms do for us. I could be fifty and still expect her to be tooting my horn the loudest. It’d…

If I’m bent out of shape because something’s not going my way, that something’s likely out of order. Because if that something is ordered under His Lordship, then my Peace remains unaffected by results. If you’re straining toward something and can’t have enough, there’s likely something deeper here for you. Something you’re not finding in…

This is for the perfectionist. I may not know your specific struggle, but we can probably come together on how we think. The enemy wants you to focus on your flawed self so much that your obsession with “holiness” mutes your effectiveness. This self-fixation is a dangerously sneaky form of pride. Part of becoming mature…

If you’re floundering in pain today—don’t you dare let go. In Jesus, today’s pain is tomorrow’s power. The power to comfort others because God comforted you. (See 2 Corinthians 1:3-4.) The power to shine Light in darkness because Christ shone Light in yours. (See John 8:12, Matthew 5:14.) The power to hold fast to Jesus…

You may experience some genuinely joyful moments amid your grief.  These are gifts from God.  Don’t be surprised when the enemy tries to rob you of this Joy by warring on your mind.  He’ll probably speak his native language: lies.  (See John 8:44.) Lies intended to distract you from the goodness of God that outshines…

Some days, I think I’m great.  Some days, I think I’m disgusting. Both days, I‘m stuck on myself.  I used to equate pride with making myself too big. But making myself too small can be equally risky if it causes fixation on self.  Pride is self-preoccupation. And we’re told this precarious position never ends well. …

Over a year ago, I was driving to a funeral with my sons. My preschooler kept asking where we were going, and I told him I had a meeting. I didn’t want to explain. My heart was heavy in this season, for my friends burying a loved one, and for my own unrelated sorrow. My…

If you settle on the far side of the sea.  If the darkness tries to hide you. If you can’t tell which way is up. His hand still holds you fast.  (See Psalms 139:7-12.) If the height is unscalable.  If the depth is unsearchable.  If the loneliness is inarticulable.  His love still finds you there. …

If you’re overwhelmed, this one’s for you.  This is not a post about a solution. The solution is always Jesus. If it sounds cliché, that’s only because we’ve become a bit too casual about His powerful Name.  This is a post about some tools to complement the essentials (prayer/scripture/community). 1. Find somebody walking closely with…

I’m a bit wobbly at speaking up right now because I feel unqualified, unworthy, and complicit.  But God is not. So we invite Him to take over this post. *** Maybe God removed the scales from your eyes, and you’re uncomfortable and overwhelmed by your gaping need for grace & the work before you.  We,…

Some of you are hanging on to God by a fingernail.  Maybe you started your quiet struggle years ago and each year, you accidentally added another brick to the wall between you and God. All the while, you continued living the cultural Christian life while your heart gradually closed itself to God.  Years later, you…

You’re drinking information from a fire hose these days.  You feel pretty paralyzed about it. You’re going to disappoint somebody.  But you can still please God.  *** As you’re working it out— It’s okay to gradually process and ask God for wisdom.  It’s okay to cautiously step while reserving the right to reverse course. It’s…

Do we really tell wrecked souls suffering under the weight of darkness that it was always supposed to be this way? No, we tell them there’s a battle raging. We tell them the Truth. *** We tell them this battle is not against flesh and blood. That it’s so much more than what they see….