Year: 2016

April 4, 2016 believe, Christ, Christian, church, faith, grace, hope, justice, loved, messy grace, missions, prayer, radical, Sunday, worship

They Will Know Us by Our Love: A Prayer for the Church

The church has long held a special place in my heart. It’s never been because of her perfection, but perhaps, quite the opposite. At her best, church is simply a messy group of sinners striving to love a broken world. However, it is in her imperfect striving together that she radiates the love of Christ.

Love. That’s our real message. Let’s own it well. 

John 13:35 says in reference to the church, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

The Message translation puts it this way:
“Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”

The premise is simple– the world will recognize God’s people by their radical love, both for each other and a hurting world around them.

I pray for a church known for our radical, selfless love. Let it be said of us… 

(adapted from 1 Corinthians 13)

May the church be known for her patience, for her kindness.
May we neither envy, nor boast; may our contentment preach to a hurting world.
God, let your church be known for her humility, rather than her pride.
May she be neither arrogant, nor rude.
Let your church not insist on her own way.
Let us reflect you well with neither irritability, nor resentment.
Rather, may we love the bride for which you laid down your life.
May we never rejoice over wrongdoing. 
Teach us to weep not just at the sins of our neighbors, but first at our own. 
God, teach us to rejoice in your truth. May we never take for granted its supreme value. 
May we bear all things in love, gladly bearing the burdens of our cities.
Together, let us come to believe your truths, find hope in all things, and endure all things in unity.

Our cities will know we were here. Our neighbors will feel our impact. 



What image of the church will be ingrained in their minds?

I pray that our communities would see a people in passionate pursuit of justice, radiating perfect love, and unfailing hope. 

Let them know us by our love.

March 27, 2016 all things new, death, doubt, dreams, Easter, Easter Sunday, fear, God, Good Friday, hope, joy, loss, new, new life, resurrection, seasons, spring, the resurrection, winter

To the One Who Needs Resurrection

The winter has been long my dear, but you have made it.

Perhaps the weather outside was an all too vibrant reminder of the weather in your heart this season. 

Perhaps your own winter saw its share of death.

The end of a relationship…
A difficult illness…
The death of a dream…
A hurting marriage…
Tremendous loss…
A confusing season…

Amidst the winter, it seemed that spring would never come. Would you ever see the light?

And yet, faithfully, the seasons remain steadfast. The sun breaks through. 

With the first taste of spring comes a beautiful reality. After months of darkness, cold, and death, spring ushers in new life and new light. 


Spring brings with it a joyous reminder of new life in the form of Easter. Many people mark their goals, plans, etc. by the start of a new year, I find my “newness” in this gentle reminder of resurrection.



The resurrection serves as a promise to my soul.

That loss you have mourned, that shame you have hidden– it is covered in the shadow of the cross my friend.

Good Friday was only good because of the hope that was to come. Every fear, every doubt, every tear, every pain is swallowed up in the promise of a perfect Savior who hung on the cross so I would not have to. So you would not have to. And that is good. Good for my soul and for yours as well.

The beauty of the resurrection is that our Savior is alive. He conquered death and stole the keys to hell. 

He wants more than this weary life for you. He wants to resurrect that thing you’ve been holding friend. It seems safe tightly in your grip, but the moment you release it, He will faithfully mold it into beauty beyond your imagination. The winter is over, you have seen your share of death. It’s time. Let the newness creep in; let it swallow your fears and your dreams and watch what blooms. 

The resurrection has always been an invitation. Just as Jesus invited the women at the empty tomb to “come and see,” He beckons you and me today. Come. Taste and see that He is good. (Psalm 34:8)

Our God is steadfast and He’s in the business of bringing dead things to life. Will you let Him?

February 17, 2016 beauty, beauty from ashes, belief, Biblical womanhood, Christ, Christian, darkness, God, grace, lies, light, redeemed, redemption, relationships, self-image, trust, women, worth

Finding Freedom From the Lies We Believe (A Contributor Post at The Glorious Table)

You are not enough…
If they only knew…
If only my life looked like…
This is how it starts. These statements are the beginning of many of my internal battles. It is exhausting. I long more than anything to be a woman who’s steadfast, unswerving in her identity, and serving Christ with all that she is. And yet I struggle. These thoughts pop up, and Satan fuels the fire with his lies. Soon I am sulking in self-pity, jealousy, and anger.
If I am honest, I have a lifelong pattern of listening to these lies.  They have become familiar friends.
I am not enough. If only I did more, I would be worth more. If I were thinner and prettier, if I were in a relationship, if I got that promotion, then I could cease striving.
Her goodness and success minimizes mine. This is the comparison trap so many of us fall prey to. What can I do to be more like her? Her success will make me look like a failure. Diminishing her value will build my own.
All love for me is conditional.  If they only knew, if they saw everything about me, it would all come crashing down. No one loves me for the true me. Keep pretending; be the person they like.
God will not fulfill His promises; He wants something other than my good. My situation looks nothing like my plans. God is leading me astray. I can control my life. The outcome is better in my hands. God is not safe.

These are the thoughts that keep me up at night. The thoughts that drive a wedge into my relationship with the Lord. It is these little seeds of doubt that flourish into anger and a belief that God is not entirely good.
These are the lies Satan speaks over my life, and maybe over yours as well. The dangerous part is that I begin to agree with them. I slowly write a narrative of these lies over my own life. It is not until they are faced with light and truth that they disappear.
When darkness and light meet, the light always wins.
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