The other day I was scrolling through social media when I saw a friend panicking about her upcoming fortieth birthday. As soon as I saw it I replied: “❤️❤️❤️ I know it seems like a milestone, but 40 is awesome. By this time you’re old enough to know who you are in Christ, who you want to be, and respect yourself more than we ever did in our 20s and 30s. The best is yet to come girl!“ The best part is that I honestly meant it. Last Thursday, when I had yet another birthday, I started thinking about all the things I’ve learned in this decade and all the freedom I’ve discovered. This week, I’m sharing my list with you. Here are the truths that have settled in my spirit and made m

Anyone who is actively following God’s plan and purpose for their lives will tell you that their journey included the choice to make personal sacrifices and investments. They worked hard. They prayed hard. They struggled. The life you may be admiring today didn’t come easy…instead, it took blood, sweat, and tears. Still they determined that when it came to living a life worthy of their calling the price was always right.

Walking by faith isn’t about one individual leap, but more of a lifetime of steps following God wherever He leads. One thing I’ve seen in our lives is that just about the time I take a deep breath and say, “Wow! God came through. We followed Him in faith and He was faithful”, that’s when the Holy Spirit starts asking us to take another step of faith.

I'd just taken a firm stance on Christians compromising in the area of entertainment. The whole next day it felt like I was fielding comments from those who agreed and too many who disagreed, as I continued to stand firm. Honestly, I was feeling pretty confident in my stance. And then I read a post by a tremendously respected friend about “Little Lines that Christians Cross”. That’s when any self-assurance that I may have had from my previous comments came to a crashing halt as I realized that I was watching one of the shows on her list. And I enjoyed it. (Hanging head in shame) Even though I knew this show was objectionable, I watched it and thought, “It won’t affect me,

One of the biggest mistakes that too many Christians make is they confuse “faith” with “laziness”. The two are far from synonymous. Instead, faith means that because you believe God has told you to do something, you do with all of the effort, passion, energy, and strength that you have.

It was a cool Spring morning when my parents packed our car with fishing poles and bait and decided to take my brother and me on a fishing adventure. I was about eight or nine years old and it may have been our first time fishing. (If there was another, I don’t remember.) Mom was ready with her camera, and Jamie and I were excited to give this new adventure a try. Well, it didn’t take long for the excitement to wear off as we began to realize that fishing is mostly about waiting. And being quiet. And more waiting. It seemed like an eternity had passed and all we’d done is get our lines caught in trees, dropped the camera and broke it, and watched our bobbers float on top of the water.

When I was a little girl Easter always meant the same things: A new dress, a big basket of chocolate, Easter egg hunts, a big family meal, and of course, the most elaborate church service of the year. Until I was about thirteen years old, we carried on these traditions year after year. What changed then? Well, it was around that time that our family decided to leave the very unhealthy church we were attending and began attending a fantastic church about an hour away from our home. For me, this church was love at first sight. Every week I couldn’t wait to go. When Easter came, they always did an over-the-top, amazing Easter spectacular—a can’t miss event. Unfortunately, our rel

When deciding whether or not to take a step of faith we need to ask ourselves, “Do I want to please God?”