READ: ROMANS 12:1-13; JAMES 4:6-10 I genuinely wanted to figure this out on my own. But I couldn’t. It was time to ask for help. I’d been in Romania just a few weeks. Wanting to acclimate to my new city, I took a tram to shop for groceries one afternoon. I needed to return for [...]

READ: MATTHEW 10:29-31; ROMANS 8:28-29; 1 CORINTHIANS 2:9; HEBREWS 13:5 Are you going through a stressful time? Is life really hard? In every hard time, we are seen. We are known, and we are loved. And the One doing all of this caring is God Himself. Jesus understands suffering. He suffered and died for you. [...]

READ: GENESIS 16:1-13; PSALM 139; HEBREWS 13:5 If there was a list of all the people in the Bible who had a reason to feel invisible, Hagar would no doubt be near the top. As Sarai’s Egyptian slave, Hagar likely had no choice but to cooperate when she was suddenly thrown into the middle of [...]

READ: JOHN 13:31-38; 15:1-17; 1 JOHN 3:16-18; 4:19 Have you ever heard the expression, “They talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk”? It’s a way of saying that people’s actions don’t match their words. For example, if somebody talks all about how important recycling is but constantly throws their plastic water bottles into the [...]

READ: GENESIS 1:26-27; JOHN 3:16-17; REVELATION 5:9; 7:9-10 Have you ever watched a florist arrange different flowers into a bouquet? It’s fascinating to see all those blooms come together into a unified composition. And a florist’s creativity points to our Creator God, who designed the stunning variety of flowers we find all around the world. [...]

READ: EXODUS 14:14; PSALMS 23:1-3; 127:2; MATTHEW 11:25-30 Are you, like me, constantly asking God to move and work and make your life different? There are things I’ve prayed about over and over again, asking God to step in and bring about change. I’ve begged Him to make things better. As I pray to Him, [...]

READ: DEUTERONOMY 6:4-9; LUKE 11:1-13 In the churches I’ve grown up in, prayers were almost always made up on the spot. And these prayers are great! But lately, I’ve also been appreciating pre-written prayers. And I’m not the only one! In the early church, it wasn’t uncommon for Christians to pray the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew [...]

READ: PROVERBS 11:14; 12:15; 15:22; 20:18 Do you have people in your life who want to give you advice, like parents, teachers, pastors, counselors, or coaches? They want us to listen to what they have to say, and often we can be tempted to shrug them off, but there may be a lot we can [...]

READ: MATTHEW 11:28-30; GALATIANS 1:10; COLOSSIANS 3:23-24 Have you ever felt pressure to get straight As or be the best athlete on the field? There are so many things in this world telling us to be the best at this or that. When we feel this pressure on our shoulders, it can start to crush [...]

READ: MATTHEW 11:28-30; 14:13-23; MARK 5:21-43 One of my biggest pet peeves is slow walkers. I remember in high school I would inwardly scream when I was caught behind someone dillydallying. And now, when I go to the grocery store, I weave my cart in and out of families on busy afternoon shopping trips. I [...]