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: 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: 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 [...]

READ: PSALMS 23:5-6; 34:8; HABAKKUK 3:17-19; JAMES 1:17 In the goodness of the Lord I will rejoice!He has given Life to me—His sinless sacrifice set me free.In the goodness of the Lord I will rejoice!In the grave His body lay—Sin’s ransom fully paid.In the goodness of the Lord I will rejoice!On the third day Hell [...]

READ: PSALM 23; 2 CORINTHIANS 7:5-7 Once again, intense pain had brought me to the emergency room where I waited to be admitted to an upstairs room. Beyond discouraged, I asked the Lord, “Do You still love me?” My depression deepened as one nurse after another poked me with needles and questioned me. The paramedics [...]

READ: MATTHEW 18:20; ROMANS 12:9-18; EPHESIANS 3:14-21 "Is it enough?” The question rolled around in my brain as I drove home. A family in our church was experiencing a number of medical problems, so a few of us went to their house to pray with them, bring a meal for us to eat together, and [...]

READ: PROVERBS 17:17; 27:17; ECCLESIASTES 4:9-10; JOHN 15:12-15 Do you ever meet someone and think something like, “I hope your weirdness matches my weirdness, so we can be friends”? I do! The Bible says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend” (Proverbs 27:17). The longer I walk with God, the more I [...]

READ: EXODUS 15:13; PSALM 36:7; ISAIAH 54:10 Unfailing love of Jesus,unending mercy renewed,Unfailing strength in my weakness—for your name is Faithful and True.Unceasing comfort in sorrow,untold delight in my heart,Unceasing hope for tomorrow—for your mercy I see from afar.Jesus, my Savior, I praise You,Jesus, the One I adore,Jesus, the face of the Father—my God, my [...]

READ: ISAIAH 61:1-3; JOHN 16:16-33; REVELATION 21:1-5 Every seven weeks, I watch an IV drip two hours’ worth of liquid medication into my arm. That’s the reality of a chronic illness— it’s never-ending. It’s most likely not going away. Not before Jesus returns anyway. Living with Crohn’s disease feels like a part-time job. I have [...]

READ: 1 CORINTHIANS 15 One day, unless Jesus returns first, I will die. And honestly, that’s a scary thought for me. I’ve known Jesus as my Savior for as long as I can remember, and I trust that He will hold me even in death. But sometimes I think I use the promise of the [...]