Lent, Spring, & The Kokosing River

 By mid-January I am generally left wondering how much more winter and darkness I can take that season. Winter is a struggle for me in many ways, and January and February often prove to hold significant spiritual wrestling.  Having been raised in a protestant evangelical setting, I did not grow up observing the season of…

Twenty Twenty-One – A Year Review

JANUARY  I deleted all social media, and had to learn to be okay with being “disconnected” to be connected in real life. Margie died, and we hugged our friends in their grief. I designed, patterned, and sewed new products at my seamstress job, and learned the trick to efficiently measure out enough yardage to cover…

Prayer of Petition IX – Advent

"Come, as You came as God Incarnate,  Reside in our hearts. Dwell in our homes. Be near us in our gardens.  Carry us through the valleys,  Up the steep mountain slopes. Gather with us around the feasting table, O Thou our Living Bread. Anoint our souls as Your precious temples. Be always in us and…

Refuge Against the Winter Dark – Prayer of Petition VIII

I remember the first time I realized that the time change affected me. Lying on the living room floor, facing the ceiling, I was unable to motivate myself to rise because of how dark it was by 4pm. The darkness outside seemed to physically hold my body to the floor. Two years ago I wrote…

Jesus, Doubting Thomas, & Me

I was born into a Christian family, raised in the Church, and steeped in the language of the faith. I was saved at a young age, baptized as a child, and continued to grow in the Lord throughout my teens. My parents, family, teachers, and church had taught me the Gospel. They had laid the…

Writing Again

I have not written much this year. I haven’t kept a journal since January, and there are not my normal yearly number of entries on the Notes app. At the beginning of the year I deleted all social media accounts, and cut back on the number of devotions that I write for OpenDoorsUSA. I have…

Mundane Beauty in a Sterilized World

In a world of instant gratification and lightning speed electronics, I long for stillness, labor, and a practice of quiet. I want to take the time to not only see, but also enjoy beautiful things, extravagant and mundane beauty alike.  This is, I think, a God-placed desire. While we live on earth we long for…

The Faithful God of a Skeptical Child

Deep down, I think that I have always been a skeptic. I have always doubted that God answers the prayers of His people. Not that He does not hear my prayers, but that He will answer them. With my mouth I have professed the truth, and may have even believed it at times, but most…

The Church & Childlessness

I do not ever remember a time in my life where my family has not been touched by the loss of unborn children. Conversations about miscarriages, infertility, and adoption have been nearly as common as talking about what we should have to eat that week. My parents have not been afraid to talk about their…

Color-Coding Your Bible Study

A few years ago I was desperate for some structure in the area of my Bible highlighting. I had a small collection of highlighters, colored pencils, and micron pens that I would use to highlight, underline, and annotate during my daily devotions, but there was very little rhyme or reason to my method of using…