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3 Helpful Ways to Acknowledge the War in Your Soul
The church service had just started and my three year old daughter was already causing problems. She wouldn’t be still or quiet and her eyes begged me to hold her during each song. I could tell the whining was about to start when she scrunched up her face at my refusal of the gum she requested, and by the time the children were dismissed for the sermon, anger and impatience had taken over my spirit. She refused to stay in children’s church, so I grudgingly carried her back to the service with strict warnings to ‘be quiet, sit still and don’t bother me because I want to listen’. About…
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What to believe when you feel like there’s nothing left to give
We didn’t register for a lot of fancy things when we got married. I picked out a china pattern and some flatware, but we didn’t place crystal, silver pieces, or cut glass on our registry. However, I married a man from the South and one of the sweet ladies from the church where he grew up gave us a beautiful pitcher. It was lovely, but what was most significant about this gift was the note included on the package. She wrote to us explaining how this pitcher represented what she prayed for our family. It was her hope that we would invite people into our home and show love, acceptance, welcome…
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When your soul feels dry and empty
I used to picture deserts as endless rolling hills of sand. Hot, dry, the blazing sun, no people or cities in sight, maybe a camel or two ambling along. My visions had been shaped by movies, I’m sure, and there was an almost romantic feeling to it. Then I moved to the Middle East and experienced the desert. Yes, those romanticized parts do exist; the sand is red and goes on forever, the nighttime sky is brilliant with stars that are unhindered by any kind of man-made light, and it truly is as beautiful as I had imagined. But there is also a desert that looks like this. Cracked, dried…
