Nothing great ever comes out of easy experiences, for without the struggles we will never learn to overcome the challenges that come against us, nor will we be able to appreciate the little life confirmations we are given.

Our culture tells us many lies. One of these lies is that we are not good enough. This lie is easy to listen to because we tend to get negative thoughts stuck in our minds, and the more you think something the easier it is to think it again. This

I am so sorry, you don’t deserve to be broken. I understand you may feel hopeless, and that's ok. You may be thinking, this is it. This is all there is. How will I recover? How can I move on? How can I get better? What now? I want you to remember there always has been, and always will be a plan for you. God created you for a reason, a purpose. The Sovereign Lord, and Almighty God of the universe has a plan for you. He knit you together in your mother’s womb, and he knows you by name. Why would God make the sacrifice to save you if he didn’t have a plan for you? 

The culture starts putting their hope in earthly things and finds themselves drifting away from the God who chose us. Too often the world's ways influence us and make us believe certain things about ourselves. Such as…

The gospels are four books narrating Jesus’ life and how he fulfilled this very prophecy. The gospel of Luke portrays Jesus’ ministry as The Upside Down Kingdom or Upside Down Living. Because the Pharisees themselves believed they were perfect, they had created the lie that God can only love perfect people. Jesus shatters that lie. He turns our worldview completely upside down.

If you simply humble yourself and leave your heart open to God, He will find ways to work in your life. And rather than relying on “being yourself” to have an identity, or “doing what feels best” in order to find pleasure you will find all you need in Jesus. You will find a peace that transcends all understanding to satisfy you. You will find the truth of God’s word that will sustain you and give you an identity. You will find the love of God that will enable you to do all things through Him who gives you strength.

I just want you to know that you are talented and unique. Most of the world will tell you otherwise, so I thought you should know. I hope that that will raise your hopes so that you can see a bright future ahead of you. I hope that it helps to refute the lies that society tells you. I hope it will help you see happiness and joy in your reach.

Gratitude changes everything.

Life is full of circumstances that we cannot control. In any given moment, things could be better and things could be worse. It’s all about how we choose to respond to our current circumstance.

Making the choice to be thankful—to find something (no matter how small) to rejoice about—has the power to shift our heart attitude. This choice is not always easy. I have found myself struggling with this recently. It feels like if I have a thankful attitude, it means I need to be ok with the pain and heartache of the hard stuff. It goes against my human nature.

This poem in memory of our Sophia.

I think at times we can be hard on ourselves, wondering why we don’t go from a seedling to a mature plant overnight. We try to force growth and then wonder why we can’t sustain the demand when it is simply because our seed didn’t have enough time to sprout and produce the amount needed for the calling placed on it.

We were born into this world with purpose. But often we forget the true importance of what living life really means. Are we filling our lives with purpose and design God had planted in our hearts since he brought us here on earth or are we letting the world consume us? We were born with purpose, HIS purpose. He knew you before He formed you in your mother's womb. 

We can find belonging more wholly in generous relationships, when our confidence isn’t coming from others. And not only can we find it for ourselves, but we can also create it for others: making spaces where people are welcome, loved unconditionally, and authentically desired.

A few years ago I was at a multiple day conference with a couple hundred women. I found myself in a space where I felt extremely uncomfortable in my own skin. Nothing had happened in that space to cause me to feel uncomfortable; the feelings were rising up from inside of me. Familiar lies rose to the surface in my mind and with them tears threatened to spill out from under my eye lids.