Faith
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Christians and Exclusivity
To preface: this post has more bite than usual because it’s a topic I’m very passionate about: exclusivity. Today is a special edition of Devotional Diva! This hiatus isn’t turning out to be much of a hiatus, is it? And we normally don’t even have posts on Mondays! Well, I just had to get this up today because this topic has been burning in my heart – and also because it coincides nicely with the publishing of my guest post on a pretty sweet blog called The Laundry Moms. First of all, the post on TLM means a lot to me because it’s sort of a tribute to my…
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How I Became a Christian
This is the story of how I became a Christian. But first, it’s important to look at my parents’ faith background. My mom was raised Catholic and always had some issues with it. After she became an adult, she looked for another Christian church. She actually ran into a really weird, disillusioning church sect in the process. Nothing ever felt right, and she eventually stopped looking. But she was always a Christian. My dad has really always been a man of God, too. He’s just never been that into actually going to church. Since my mom didn’t like being raised in a faith she didn’t agree with, she and my…
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A Different Kind of Stress
[Guest Post by Bonnie Gray – I was surprised to find the answers I was looking for in her new book Finding Spiritual Whitespace. I think all of us at some point in our life think we just have to try or pray harder. Do more. I love, love, love her story. If you’re stressed out today, I know you’ll be encouraged by Bonnie’s fresh word!] Can we ever be free from stress? Stress seems to be so embedded in our modern lives, we’ve come to breathe it like oxygen. Emails, Twitter, doctor appointments, and a to-do list filled with growing unchecked boxes are all part of my reality. Is…
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Resolved to Surrender
[Guest Post by Andrea Portilla – Why is it that we try to work harder, give and serve more when all we need to do is simply surrender? I appreciate Andrea’s post, and I hope you will too!] At the beginning of the New Year I had made a resolution: I was going to take a bubble bath once a week! A perfect kind of resolution! The first few weeks into the year I was beside myself, for I came to realize God desired so much more from my life than I had been giving Him. In the midst of motherhood and babies; being a loving wife and intentional mother, I…
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Shame, Our Souls, and the Gospel
[Guest Post by Kimberly Davidson Campbell – I have never met a woman who had it all together on the inside. Maybe you do a good job or holding everything together on the outside, but there’s always traces of shame that tries to steal our joy. I appreciate Kim’s words of encouragement today. Like fresh water in a desert oasis of my heart. Receive them today with love!] As I sit in the passenger seat of my husband’s now trip-cluttered (otherwise immaculate) Camry, I am intrigued and overwhelmed by all the areas of shame that plague me. These areas of shame don’t just plague me — but in some way…
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Life as It Is Meant to Be
[Guest Post by Hannah Anderson – I met Hannah through my friend Lisa Velthouse, founding editor of PickYourPortion.com. I always appreciating meeting new people through others. It excites me even more when I found out that they are also (shocker) a writer! Please welcome Hannah who writes with grace and glory — while reminding us what life as it is meant to be, looks like!] “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.”—C. S. Lewis One summer my husband, Nathan, and I drove from Seattle to Los Angeles on Highway 101. We had both been raised in the eastern United States, more at home in…
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When Church Hurts
[Guest Post by Lori Tisdale – We know each other through mutual friends nearby, and she asked me to share my story on her blog — I had to host her here! If any of you have stepped foot in the church, you’ll understand what it means to be hurt. But. It’s what we do with our hurt that matters. Please welcome Lori!] I was the first born of a new pastor and his young bride. For the most part, I was a very well-behaved preacher’s kid — the teacher’s pet, a devout Missionnette (the church’s version of a Girl Scout). I led the on-campus High School Bible Study, taught…
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Hit the Start Button {of Your Faith}
[Guest Post by Nicole Unice – We go way back to before the days we were published authors. We met at Story Conference in Chicago, IL — and it’s my pleasure to spread the word about her newest book entitled Start Here: Beginning a Relationship With Jesus. May you be encouraged wherever you are on the journey, that it’s never too late to start, and restart!] It was late on a Saturday night and we were sitting at a bar. There were six of us crowded around, and conversation drifted, the men talking among themselves while the women turned to the normal topics, of marriage and mothering and work. And…
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Riding Waves of Faith
[Guest Post by Emily Rose Massey – When she asked if she could share her story, it was hard to narrow it down because this girl has gone through so much! Her testimony is as huge as her heart. I know you will be encouraged by her story. If you currently feel stuck under the waves of life, you are not alone. Stand and have faith with Emily today!] Our faith is tested under waves of faith, and in the weight and pressures of life. It’s in the fire, the trials, and the storms of life that we are truly strengthened. We can choose to rise above the chaos or…
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Is ultra connectedness…bad?
[Guest Post by Ashley Beaudin – I always appreciate meeting new people, especially ones that care about the whole person including the heart. Check out her new eBook 33 Questions to Ask YOUR Heart below.] There is a fire singing in your bones. Let’s find it. We live in a culture where we are connected all the time; we are hyper-connected. You can feel like you’re connected with someone without ever having a face-to-face conversation. And when you’re bored or tired or unhappy with your life, hey you can just scroll through someone else’s and get your mind off of yours. Right? Am I right? Come on, let’s be honest. …
