Just to Inspire You

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Not every moment of life is reeling with inspiration, but I live for the moments that lift me up. 

I wanted to share this with you...just to inspire you. Just to remind you that there's a gift in you that the world needs. 

I wanted to remind you that it's ok to make or share something simply because it's beautiful.

As a maker, a creator, or curator of created things, when you choose to create, you're furthering God's creation. When you respond to the call to create, you're maintaining in God's work to "fill the earth and subdue it" (Genesis 1:28).

All that God has made is true, good, and beautiful and you have the honor of participating in it.

So, just in case you needed a reminder of how awe-inspiring God really is, look up, because it's all around you. 

Soak in the inspiration and share it as often as you can. 

7 Signs Your Insecure Leader is Showing

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7 Signs Your Insecure Leader is Showing

Have you ever met an insecure leader?

Well, have we ever met? 

Unfortunately, I fit the bill sometimes. 

But I think anyone who's a leader and a human being is going to struggle with insecurity in some shape or form. 

Meet LIL.

LIL is short for "Little Insecure Leader."

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The Simple, Saving, Radical, Real Love of God

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The Simple, Saving, Radical, Real Love of God

As many of you know I spend most of my days in my house with my little munchkins. 

Many of those days I try to leave the house, even if it’s for something small, like to go to the store to grab an ingredient I need for dinner. I sit the girls in the buggy designed like a car and swing by the bakery to get them a free cookie. That cookie and car-shaped buggy have saved my life multiple times, let me tell you. Sometimes, I will take them to the park or the library  and then coax them away with the promise of something “special” aka french fries. 

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Usefulness...It's More than You Think

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Usefulness...It's More than You Think

First and foremost, I bid you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s Thanksgiving Day, and I’m likely beginning my day with a delicious cup of coffee. Now, there’s something to be thankful for—COFFEE! I am exceedingly thankful for coffee. I believe it to be the most enjoyable drink on the earth. And it’s a drink to be had in any season. You can drink it all year round. 

For the cold months, there are a million ways to have it hot. There’s nothing better than sipping your favorite tasty latte to warm you from head to toe. Yet, even when the temperature outside rises too high, a well-made cold brew is absolutely appropriate, and quite refreshing.

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All Filled Up: Silencing My Inner Cookie Monster

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All Filled Up: Silencing My Inner Cookie Monster

A few weeks ago I shared that I was going to begin a Whole30. You can read that post here. 

Honestly, there is a part of me that doesn’t want to share this. Is this really important? Aren’t there weightier things we could talk about? 

I’ve recently come to terms with the fact that I cannot be who God has called me to be if I’m bound by an addiction of any kind. I am not as effective of a witness. I am not living free. If I can’t move past this then I am limited. My purpose is limited. 

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No Second Chances: 9 Ways to Jumpstart the Call on Your Life

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No Second Chances: 9 Ways to Jumpstart the Call on Your Life

Let’s say you’ve felt the call to ministry in some form. Or maybe you just know that you’re meant to do more with your life than just survive at a nine to five job.

But there is no obvious path to take. You feel apprehensive about moving forward because the unknown is frightening at times.

On the other hand, you don’t know if you’re wasting the precious time you’ve been given. Let’s face it, our time is a limited resource. After all, when we see Jesus face to face we aren’t going to say, “Wait, Lord. Can I go back? I didn’t do that quite like I wanted to.” We get one life. There are no second chances.

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Consider the Source

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Consider the Source

Have you ever felt like you are supposed to flourish but you’re just stuck?

You tell yourself you don’t have the time or you’re too busy or it’s too hard right now to do the things you know you’re supposed to. Maybe you can start later or next week or on a Monday.

I was once in a relationship that became super dumb. Those are the nicest words I have for it.

At first it was not dumb. It was great and fun. We laughed and frolicked in fields with daisies.

But then it happened. You know those people who get a boyfriend or girlfriend and then they disappear? That was me. I became needy and insecure. That, my friends, is not cute.

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Battle Born: Fighting the Funk of Depression

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Battle Born: Fighting the Funk of Depression

The irrationality of fear first gripped me when I was young. 

I was in first grade…and the thought of school terrified me. 

But that’s normal, right? Its culturally common for kids to hate school and who, at some point, hasn’t ever seen a young child screaming bloody murder when getting dropped off to their first day of school?

Then came middle school, where at age 12, I was so distraught with anxiety, that I walked in one night to tell my Mom I no longer wanted to live. I told her I had been having thoughts of ending my life with my Dad’s shotgun. 

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Destroying Porn: This One's for the Guys

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Destroying Porn: This One's for the Guys

**Note: While this post is intended to educate, challenge, and inform, it is of a particular graphic nature. Please read at your own risk.** 

Lets take the gloves off; porn is ubiquitous. 

As technology progresses, so has the consumption of pornography. As a result, porn usage has ruined families, marriages, businesses, churches, and many, many young lives.

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6 Ways to Seek Excellence and Grow Through It

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6 Ways to Seek Excellence and Grow Through It

A few years ago my husband and I started attending a very large church that, to some, might seem to have it all together but I think they would be the first to admit they don’t.

We are so thankful for our time there. We learned so much and we got to rest and recover.

But some of the typical things that people encounter with larger churches were things that we found to be challenging, and at times frustrating.

  • It was hard sometimes to feel connected.
  • At times things felt a little too well rehearsed.
  • And we wondered if we were “cool” enough.

Shocking, I know.

I have a tattoo. Matt wears skinny jeans. What more could you want?

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If We Truly Are Vigilant...

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If We Truly Are Vigilant...

Here we are. All of us together.

We have come to a point in history where we find that our desire to do good is thwarted by an acute case of self-obsession.

We are in slavery, our taskmaster, comfort. We dare not make way to the promised land knowing full well that between us and that place lies wilderness, lies difficulty, lies hardship.

Who am I to say such things?

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Kill the Clutter. Reclaim Your Life.

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Kill the Clutter. Reclaim Your Life.

I really thought adulthood would be a certain cure to procrastination.

I thought I would arrive to a place where I could inherently muster myself to a place of responsibility, never to leave any of my work undone again.

I was wrong.

It's delusional to think that things will organize themselves.

Have you ever thought this?

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Reaching Beneath the Surface

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Reaching Beneath the Surface

The past week has been a whirlwind of activity.

Packing and goodbyes all around.

When it comes to packing, I tend to procrastinate because the moment I start I will have to deal with all the chaos that comes with it and my life is already pretty chaotic. So, I like to do it all in just a couple days. It’s stressful and overwhelming, but it only lasts for a moment.

The goodbyes. Those are hard. But it was a little different this time. I didn’t say goodbye to one person I didn’t feel like I wouldn’t see again. It was definitely more of a “see ya later”.

Have you ever voluntarily pulled all of your junk out of every crevice of your house and asked people to come help you pack it?

 

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Dear Self

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Dear Self

Now you’re in it.

You've set a plan into play and you’re watching it grow.

Maybe it’s just a trickle for now, but it’s been enough to peak your interest.

It’s enough to determine that what you’ve began you should at least continue.

This is just a plug, a nod, a nudge to tell you to keep going.

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Embracing the Gift of Work

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Embracing the Gift of Work

"So, what should I do next?"

I speak to audiences of people on a pretty regular basis, so this is a question I hear often.

I mean, I get it.

You're searching for a blueprint or formula than can carry you in the right direction and ideally, help you secure a more successful future, right?

But what if there's more to it than this?

Motivation is a powerful thing, especially when it comes to how we look at work.

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7 Ways to Ensure You Don't Self-Destruct

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Have you ever shared something you’ve labored over for a long time? 

I mean, have you ever really extended yourself to show the fruits of your labor in a way that’s almost uncomfortable? 

For several months now, I’ve been working on a side project, and now, it’s finally ready.

Let’s talk for a second. 

So, you exposed your ideas to the entire world, but have you ever had a conversation with yourself that went something like:

“Okay, time to write this paper!”

You sit down to write the paper…nothing. Crickets. The thought train has derailed and the memory bank is closed. 

 

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Cooking Up Some Truth

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Cooking Up Some Truth

I love cooking.

It’s a fairly recent development. I think it got really serious when I started watching cooking shows and reading cooking blogs.

It hasn’t always been that way. When I first got married I made breakfast burritos with maple sausage. Just one bite inspired my gag reflex. It tasted like Mexican food drenched in syrup.

Matt actually ate one and went back for seconds (because he’s a man and I feel like they will eat anything) but half way through he conceded. It was wretched. But now I think I’m a fairly decent cook. I love to add layers of flavor to my food and I love to make things from scratch.

 

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Escaping Comfort

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Escaping Comfort

Do you remember school dances? I do.

The dress, the hair, the date. All awkward, all the time.

One night after one of these historic dances I decided to corner my date in the car.

He couldn’t escape. He had to hear me out. He didn’t have a choice unless he wanted to tuck and roll out of a moving vehicle. He listened to me rant and cry for a good fifteen minutes because I couldn’t take it anymore.

I had to get out.

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