From Want to Need We probably don’t know each other, but I wish we could sit down on the squishy couch in the middle of my messy living room and look each other in the eye. Face-to-face, you would see that I’m not here to condemn. I’m not looking to burden you with shame over […]

Joy and Happiness Joy, in my opinion, is the most confusing virtue of the fruit of the Spirit. Often, we think of joy as being synonymous with happiness. Happiness, however, is a feeling that comes and goes. We have all experienced the fleeting nature of happiness, only to find ourselves searching for satisfaction again the […]

an unexpected turn Over plates of chicken shawarma, I asked the young twenty-something in front of me what her relationship with God currently looked like. She said it had changed a lot over the past year, then proceeded to tell me why. And the “why” went a direction I didn’t expect. She had attended a […]

fear and food After the first time I had the flu, the thought of vomiting gave me a visceral reaction. I would collapse into panic attacks—crying, screaming, sweating, shaking—anytime my stomach began to turn. This fear became so strong I struggled to eat or leave the house. I hated this fear and what it did […]

the cycle of seclusion It’s been a long day. You are exhausted as you pull into your garage and close the door behind you, grateful for a neighborhood that values seclusion as much as you do. Life regularly looks like closed doors and quiet evenings. On Sunday your pastor might mention hospitality. You cringe a […]