"God bless them," "Bless your heart," "count your blessings," and "#blessings" abound as social platitudes, but what does it really mean to be blessed or to bless someone else? We all want material blessings, but perhaps spiritual blessings that only come from God are the most vital and important to ...
Contentment at Christmas
As the Christmas shopping season creeps closer to Halloween with each passing year, I'm reminded how advertisements, media, and companies prey on our inability to be content. For a nation overly concerned with happiness, it seems that we exist in a vicious cycle perpetuated by capitalism, which is ...
Top 15 Thanksgiving Bible Verses
As is customary on Thanksgiving Day, giving thanks for everything we have can be easy or hard depending on what's going on in our lives. If things are tough, it's often hard to give God our thanks; when things are going well, sometimes we forget to thank God, too. We praise God first because he ...
20 Unique Gifts for the Writers and Readers in Your Life
Buying a gift for someone is hard, but buying a gift for the writers and readers in your life doesn't have to be. Those of us who love reading (and writing) would rather be discussing ideas or jotting down poems crave gifts that speak to our souls. Call us bibliophiles, nerdy, wordy, or bookish, ...
When God Shows Up in Worship
One's conversion to Christianity often includes a dramatic overwhelming God-moment. Something incredible happens when the Holy Spirit breaks through and speaks to you directly. This type of encounter with God usually causes a change, or pivot, from doubt to belief. When God shows up, the ...
What Are the Pitfalls of Checklist Christianity?
When I became a Christian over twenty years ago, I wanted to know the best ways to fully engage with my new faith and become a devoted follower of Christ. While I grew up in Christian Science and attended church with my family regularly, I didn’t really understand that Christianity hinged on the ...
What is My Purpose After Motherhood?
I rattled off some details about my life, slightly nervous to bear my soul to a complete stranger. So goes it when you begin a relationship with a new therapist—one part medicine, one part confessional. Without too much warning, she asks me point blank, "It sounds like you're wrestling with ...
10 Bible Verses About Anxiety
To be human is to have certain levels of stress related to work, family, and life itself. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, Anxiety disorders affect nearly 40 million adults ages 18 and up (that's 19.1% of people in America). This statistic equates to anxiety being the ...
How to Write Your Story of Leaving Christian Science
Writing can be a therapeutic way to process meaningful events in your life. Leaving your family's religion, or any religious group can be emotional and even traumatic. When I first wrote my story of leaving Christian Science, I found that it took lots of time to recall and process all the details ...
Everyday Love [Poem]
With each passing year, I appreciate my marriage to my husband more and more. In talking with my writing friends, we began talking about the joys of "everyday" normal life (after Covid). When the world is shaken and everything turns topsy turvy, taking stock of the regular, everyday, run-of-the-mill ...
Spurgeon and the Psalms [Review]
The Book of Psalms, or the Psalter, is often where most people go for comfort and guidance in the Bible. This chapter of the Old Testament includes 150 songs and poems written by David, Solomon, Moses, Asaph, the sons of Korah, Heman, and Ethan. In the new book, Spurgeon and the Psalms, publisher ...
My Journey to Becoming a Writer
Most good stories begin somewhere in the past. While some avoid looking back, I find that looking back nearly always informs how I want to move forward, even when I’m stuck. As a young adult, I was drawn to the discussion of ideas, introspection, deep thinking, and conversations with adults. ...
