Everything was in place for the perfect morning quiet time. The coffee was freshly made and had just the right amount of creamer. The candle was lit on the table nearby. My Bible was opened to John 5 as I’ve been going through it passage by passage. My Give Me Jesus journal was beside me, and […]

What do we do when our head knows that God is faithful but our heart feels the overwhelming fear of uncertain circumstances? How do we walk forward in obedience when we don’t hear a ‘Yes’ from God?

For the woman who tends toward being an overachiever (like myself), Pinterest and Instagram can be our worst enemy in this season! There are countless ways we can celebrate Christmas and participate it in Advent activities and readings, but it is impossible to do everything. I know my own heart tends towards the “doer” mentality in my Christian walk, but over and over in Scripture I am reminded that it’s not about what I do that brings me satisfaction, it’s about what Christ has done. My actions should flow the directly from the cross. When I put my hope in a “perfect” Advent and Christmas, I am let down. When I place my hope in my perfect Savior, I am set free.

We all carry one. That 3 foot, 36 inch measuring stick. It’s a crutch for some. A weapon for others. And then for for others it’s a scepter by which they rule others by. It’s the most unbecoming accessory. With it come chains that hold us back, tie us down and leave us wounded and unusable for the Kingdom of God. We feel as if we will never measure up to others by it, and we feel as if we are above others because of it. This stick is a lie. It’s a stumbling block designed to trip us up. And the maker of this stick is comparison.

Good = morally excellent; virtuous; righteous; profit or advantage, worth; benefit

“I say to the LORD, ‘You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.'” Psalm 16:2

The season of revival is upon us. In the blink of an eye, tiny sprouts of green will bud on the trees and the drops of color will sprinkle the ground. Spring is coming. My heart races at the thought of spring each year. By the time March comes around, the bare trees and bleak skies have made my heart burn for color and life. The seasons come and go every year, echoing the sound of revival and restoration. For centuries, God has continued His work of redemption in the spring, bring what was once dead back to life. What an incredible picture of the gospel? What a magnificent painting of grace!

There is a box of letters underneath my bed that contains bits and pieces of my heart. In this box are ten years worth of letters I wrote to my future husband. Filled with longing, dreams, and unfulfilled desires, these letters became an act of surrender and trust to the Lord. Over the years the Lord transformed these letters from being about the man my heart longed for to being a love note to my Savior. In my moments of desperate longing where I cried buckets of tears (yes, I’ve cried a lot in my lifetime), the Lord has proven to me over and over that Jesus is the only Man who will ever satisfy my heart. Most of my middle and high school years could be described as a season of waiting. Even at a young age, I longed for marriage. I craved a God-sized love story. I ached for love from a man. These longings culminated in what ended up being a full box of letters hidden beneath my bed for safe keeping. 

The purpose of the “Give Me Jesus Journal” is to provide a meeting place for you to come with your Bible, a pen and an open heart. Devotionals, Bible studies and books are incredible resources, but the words of man will never compare or give life to the heart like the words of God do. In high school I did my first Beth Moore study and it changed my life. I didn’t realize how much treasure was in the Bible! Beth Moore inspired me to know Jesus like she did. If she could read Scripture and glean so much truth from it, then I knew with the Holy Spirit in me, I could as well. And you can, too!

Comfort is a peculiar concept. Even just this afternoon, I couldn’t wait until I could change into my comfy clothes after a day of travel and work. Comfort in many ways represents rest for us safety and security. Comfort is most often the road that leads to spiritual satisfaction that turns into spiritual complacency and ends up in the dead end of spiritual ineffectiveness. It is a downward spiral crafted by this world to make us crave the temporary and miss the eternal in today. Satan wants us to jump on the comfort bandwagon. There is no thrill, no risk, no extreme life lessons in comfort, just soft t-shirts, cozy bedspreads, hot showers, and bowl full of mac n’ cheese (all the things I run to when I just want to be comfortable).

(Above photo illustrated by Rachael Milner) We are entering week two of our Proverbs 31: Women of Dignity, Washed in Grace study, and my heart could not be more expectant and full. God has already begun stirring up truths in our hearts that are breaking the shackles that have been placed on our feet for far too long! He is teaching us that true, gospel-centered womanhood is about Jesus and not “me-centered” womanhood. When we take a step back to look at our hearts, God gives us a magnifying glass to see blind spots and an eraser and sharpie to wipe away the lies and write truth. I wanted to share with you a few truths He taught me in last weeks study and I would love to hear what God is teaching you!