Dreams: Finding Joy in the Chase We Call Hard Work

It was a beautiful, joyful experience. Then, it ended and life as a wife, mom, and general manager of my home resumed. For a moment I wondered why I couldn’t hold on a little longer to the satisfaction of knowing a job well done. As usual, God gave me an answer to this wondering in a reminder to get back to work. 

But First, Extinguish the Fires

We have to expect interruptions to some extent. As a nurse and a mom I am no stranger to the concept of stopping what you are doing to address something urgent. But sometimes I become discouraged, feeling like I should be further along. I see what I want to accomplish in ministry, the church, my marriage, and my profession, and it’s hard not to be disappointed if I am not at least moving forward. I see the potential in my children and wonder if we are spending too much time just surviving each challenge and not enough time cultivating their hearts and minds for the future. Treasured friendships are put on the backburner too often in order to fulfill present obligations. In all this, I wonder if my good intentions will ever materialize with more frequency than the ever present fulfillment of priorities.

Keep Calm and Trust God

By Jen Roland According to the American Psychological Association, 77% of Americans face physical symptoms of stress, such as fatigue, headaches, and difficulty sleeping, but only 28% of them manage their stress well. About 40 million adults deal with anxiety disorders and 1 in 6 Americans take at least one psychiatric drug to treat mental

From Pissed Off to Peace

It was the coolest morning we had seen since spring, the first hint of fall, and the day of my son’s tenth birthday party. The sun was rising, birds were chirping, an excited boy was up and preparing for his day, and I was looking forward to coffee on the patio before it all got started. Walking into the kitchen I saw something on the floor, and quickly realized what it was: the birthday cake. Half-eaten, icing licked off, and completely ruined, there sat the cake I had picked up just twelve hours prior. The perpetrator of this crime walked over, happily wagging her tail and greeting me, unaware of how perturbed I was with her at this particular moment. This was not the peaceful fall morning I wanted.

Full and Forty

I began to realize that, while life has brought me many meaningful and humbling lessons, I don’t want to rehash the past. I hopefully have a full life ahead of me, but I don’t feel like pondering the future either. What feels right is to sit this forty-year-old rump down, exactly where God has planted it, and experience today.

Puzzles, Elephants, and the Mysterious Bible

As a Bible study leader, if there is one question that I have been asked more than any other, it would be something along the lines of “I have a hard time understanding the Bible when I read it on my own, how do you make sense of it?” The truth is, the Bible actually has some helpful instructions to guide us in figuring out this particular puzzle, go figure!

Rules for War

Some are losing routines and lifestyle, others income and resources, and devastatingly some will have their earthly life come to an end at the hand of this thing. It all begs the question: with so much loss, what will be gained?

Experiencing Loss: permission to grieve

By: Gena Anderson This photo was taken the first day of a fun get-away to Vegas. My husband joined me for a work trip, and we were enjoying the experience, looking forward to the next few days. Funny how expectations can be so far from reality, especially when life takes an unexpected turn.  The next