Dull gray eyes stared back at me in the mirror. Unimpressive, unimportant, unseen. That's how I felt—invisible. Would anyone notice if I were gone? Would anyone really care? Contemplating my apparent superhero power of invisibility really lifted my spirits. Sighing deep, I tried to stop the tears from leaking from my eyes. As I turned [...]

When I was about twelve years old, I started struggling with germaphobia. For as long as I can remember, I've been a major perfectionist, and I stressed and worried about a lot of unnecessary things. Then I began to wash my hands so much that they were constantly cracked and bleeding. I worried about getting [...]

**Editor's note: Today's reading discusses suicide*** If you ever want to see God's power and glory right by His compassion and gentleness, read 1 Kings 17-19. Elijah experienced the full gamut of God's character in these chapters. Elijah was a prophet (someone who spoke to God's people on His behalf) in Israel at a time [...]

READ: PSALM 42:5-11; JOHN 11:35 Have you ever been in a really emotional place—one where you’ve never been before? I have. Those situations are hard to navigate: they’re overwhelming and scary. Sometimes you even start to believe the lie that you need to isolate yourself until you “fix” the problem or “get over” your feelings. [...]

READ: ROMANS 8:1-2; COLOSSIANS 1:13-14 Editor’s Note: Today’s reading addresses self-harm. Allyson pushed up her sleeve, revealing an angry red scar in the shape of an F. F for failure. “No.” Colette reached out and gently took Allyson’s hand, exposing her scarred forearm. Some scars white and barely raised. Some still red and scabbed. Colette [...]

READ: GENESIS 1:26-27; 3:7-10; 1 CORINTHIANS 6:19-20 I’m fat. My skin is broken out. My nose is too big. I’m ugly. Thoughts like these have haunted me most of my life, particularly during my teenage years. I often wondered what was wrong with me. Why couldn’t I look different? Sometimes just looking in a mirror [...]

READ: 1 KINGS 3:5-12; 2 CORINTHIANS 10:5 God did an amazing job when He created humans. Our brains alone are made up of about 100 billion nerves that communicate in 100 trillion connections, controlling all of the systems in our bodies and allowing us to communicate, think, and reason. But, because our world is broken [...]

READ: GENESIS 2:2; 1 KINGS 19:1-8 "There will be a test over the material later this week,” Ashley heard the professor say as her class ended. Will I even have time to study for that test? she wondered. She was taking college classes while in high school and working part-time to pay for them. Just [...]

READ: EXODUS 26:31-33; MATTHEW 27:35-37, 50-52; 1 JOHN 4:10 We are all human and we all sin, so, until we see Jesus face-to-face, there will be times when we mess up (Romans 3:23; 2 Corinthians 3:18). When we stumble, slip, and fall, sometimes it seems impossible to find our way back. We let our failures [...]

READ: MATTHEW 6:25-34; MARK 4:35-41 "It’s scary.” “How can I feel safe when all of these things keep happening on the news?” “What if it happens here?” “It’s not safe out there. Maybe I should just stay home.” These are all things we begin to think when fear takes hold. And we’re not the only [...]