Mental Health Meets Faith
A friend loves at all times. (Proverbs 17:17) Recently, I was reflecting on some healing I have seen in my personal journey and thinking about how much anxiety in my life has been caused and exacerbated by negative self-talk. As I thought over the past season, areas I’ve grown and ways I want to continue growing, I felt the familiar voice of God within urging me… “It’s time to befriend yourself.” What kind of friend are […]
Perfect love. Perfect love expels all fear. (1 John 4:18) I’ve known a lot of imperfect love in my lifetime. Conditional love, selfish love, love that wasn’t really love at all. I’ve known what it is to fear being intimately known, to be known with all my faults, my fears, my insecurities. I’ve known what it’s like to fear that if my weaknesses and vulnerabilities were to be uncovered, I’d be abandoned…rejected, alone. I have been blessed beyond […]
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. (1 John 4:16 NIV)) Lately, as I read the Old Testament, I ponder over all the instances in scripture where God prioritizes our remembrance of the things that He has done through celebration. Throughout the Bible, God institutes ceremonies, feasts, the sabbath day of rest and even the Lord’s supper to […]
God looked over everything that He had made; it was good, so very good! (Gen. 1:31 MSG) There is something entirely refreshing and incredible about starting a brand-new year. I began 2022 feeling inspired to go on a journey of reading through the Bible in a year. On day one, I found myself reading the story of creation. Of course, I know the story of creation and have read it before. We learn the creation story as children. As adults, […]
Recently, I left Home. I use the word Home loosely, as a reference to a place I’ve become quite familiar with and one in which I’ve spent much time throughout my life. It’s been a place of safety, one in which I’ve found comfort. Although it has changed throughout the years, it is a place of predictability. In some ways, it has been a place of stability. I run this place, nothing escapes my notice […]
But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. (Jeremiah 17:7) Lately, God has been speaking to me about confidence. It’s a message that He is speaking to me internally and one that has been echoed all around me in this season. Confidence is not something I have had a lot of in my life. No matter how well I performed or how many friends I […]
“I love each of you with the same love that the Father loves me. You must continually let my love nourish your hearts.” (John 15:9) This Valentine’s Day will be different for me. This time around I’m married. I’ve found my forever person to spend every Valentine’s Day with now going forward. Praise Jesus. And while I am so excited for this new beginning, this morning I find myself reflecting on all the Valentine’s Days […]
If you, imperfect as you are, know how to lovingly take care of your children and give them what’s best, how much more ready is your heavenly Father to give wonderful gifts to those who ask him? (Matthew 7:11) Every holiday and birthday that comes up, a lot of thought and energy goes into thinking about what to get for my husband. My husband does not make it easy for me. I drop hints all […]
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:37-39) For the last few weeks, I have been writing about […]
Be still and know that I am God. (Ps. 46:10) Lately, I have been desiring to grow in love in greater measure. I want to love people well. I want love to be the compelling force that drives me in all aspects of my life…family, ministry, relationships, you name it. I don’t want to be driven by a calendar or a checklist of all the things I have to do, in order to be a […]