A few years ago I attended a conference where I didn't really know very many people. I was a little bit anxious about walking into the big welcome session all by myself. As I entered the room and scanned for any familiar faces, I heard my name being called. I looked over and there were a few people I didn't know waving at me. "We saved you a seat," one smiling woman (who maybe looked vaguely familiar) said. Breathing a sigh of relief I walked over and sat down next to the smiling face. ... [Read More]
Feeling Stagnant Spiritually? 3 Ways to Jump Start Your Spiritual Growth
Can I be really honest? I'm in a bit of a slow spot spiritually. It happens to me periodically, those seasons when my quiet time and Bible study seems "flat" and I am really just going through the motions. Early in my spiritual journey I believed seasons like this indicated I was a failure. But over the years, I've learned this is really just the ebb and flow of discipleship. There are mountain seasons when the Word is vibrant and I can't wait to dig in .... there are valley seasons when ... [Read More]
Five Ways to Interact with Scripture
Does anyone remember the old time flannel boards from Sunday school of yore? (I've always wanted to use that word—yore—and I finally did! #smallgoals haha!) So low tech but, man, they were so cool. Almost all my early memories of time spent in church involve carefully arranging pieces of stories like Joseph and his colored robe or Jesus feeding the 5000 onto big boards, green flannel on bottom, blue on top. I didn't know it at the time but those stories were being etched into my heart and mind ... [Read More]
How to Develop a Consistent Quiet Time Once and For All
"I just can't get it going. I know it's important. I really do. But I just can't maintain a consistent quiet time. I get bored or I oversleep or I fall asleep before I can do it at night. I give up." I sat there with my friend, trying to come up with something to say. I knew what she meant. I've felt those same things, had those same thoughts. I've even given up a time or two myself. If you've been in church or women's Bible study for very long, you've heard the admonishments and ... [Read More]
A Peek at My Journaling Bibles
Can I preface this whole post with the fact that I know there are countless people in Instagram-land who are far more artistic and creative than I am? And that some days all the beautiful pages in their journaling Bibles just flat out intimidate me to the point I don't share my own? Also, I don't share a lot of my pictures because I don't really know how to reply when I've written about what God is showing me and people compliment my handwriting. But I've been wanting to tell you more ... [Read More]
Praying the Psalms {or “I No Longer Think David Was a Whiner”}
I can be, well let's just say, I can be overly emotional. I like to blame it on my mid-forties hormones but the truth is, I've always been this way. I come by it honest — my Bigmama is, as my Aunt Mollianne says, "a force of nature." I feel things deeply, believe things strongly, and speak things passionately. I get tears in my eyes every time the band plays "Star-Spangled Banner" before a football game and I laugh hysterically at the cat and cucumber videos every time I watch them on ... [Read More]
