This article is adapted from Kristen Wetherell’s new book, Help for the Hungry Soul.   Why Don’t I Read My Bible? You know the scenario: you’re reading through a Bible passage, only to find your thoughts wandering to that work project you have to finish or that recent debate you heard online (which causes you […]

Could I come over this afternoon to talk with you? The mid-morning text from a grieving younger woman in my church surprised me. I looked up from my phone to survey my kitchen. Crumbs and dishes from lunch still cluttered the table. My laptop sat open on the counter, a constant ping reminding me of […]

It’s mid-afternoon and I have almost nothing to show for my day. Instead of crossing tasks off my list, I’ve spent hours replaying a conversation I had yesterday with a friend from church. I’ve been repeating her words and rehearsing what I could have said that would have made the conversation more fruitful. But I […]

Black trash bags laid piled in the driveway—all my belongings, in a heap on the ground. I fought back tears as I walked inside. My unwanted presence buzzed over my head like a housefly. By sixteen, I had been tossed about from home to home, this being one of seven. No one seemed to want […]

There was a strange rule in my graduate counseling program: don’t pass the tissues. It’s not surprising, but a lot of crying happens in counseling programs. I remember the first time one of my professors gestured to a fresh box of Kleenex in the center of the room and instructed us not to touch it—unless […]

If you’ve experienced suffering, I imagine people said some really helpful things to you—and some really unhelpful things. They mean well, but their words can come out in awkward, sometimes even hurtful, ways. I could tell you stories of strange things people said to me when I was suffering. But the most helpful things people […]

Our Michigan-based family loves summer (No more snow! The lake! Hiking! Berry picking! Sunshine!). But to avoid the dreaded “summer slide,” I purchased some school-related activity books for my children last year. As I made that optimistic purchase, I failed to realize that in the upheaval of our regular routines, we would only crack the […]

This article is part of our Made to Create article series. Read the other articles in the series here: “Made to Create” by Ashlee Gadd “Making Music for God’s Glory” by Caroline Cobb “Order from Chaos” by Abbey Wedgeworth “Opening Our Eyes to Art” by Sarah Shin “A Welcoming Home” by Rachael Milner   Made […]

This article is part of our Made to Create article series. Read the other articles in the series here: “Made to Create” by Ashlee Gadd “Making Music for God’s Glory” by Caroline Cobb “Order from Chaos” by Abbey Wedgeworth “A Liturgy for Your Words” by Kate Lab “A Welcoming Home” by Rachael Milner   Made to […]

This article is part of our Made to Create article series. Read the other articles in the series here: “Made to Create” by Ashlee Gadd “Making Music for God’s Glory” by Caroline Cobb “Opening Our Eyes to Art” by Sarah Shin “A Liturgy for Your Words” by Kate Lab “A Welcoming Home” by Rachael Milner   Made to […]