New Hope for Never-Ending Seasons

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New Hope for Never-Ending Seasons

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;great is your faithfulness.”

Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV

I swept the brown needles from the dying Christmas tree into a tidy pile. The smell of fir still wafted through the air, but the discarded tree slumped on the woodpile outside my window, awaiting a bonfire. 

As I cleaned, my cell phone chimed several times, alerting me to New Year’s greetings from friends and family. But instead of celebrating, a weight of despair hung heavy on my shoulders.

In all the newness, nothing had changed in my painful circumstances––not in that year, nor …

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5 Ways to Cultivate Biblical Hope

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5 Ways to Cultivate Biblical Hope

We all experience situations when it’s hard to keep hoping. What ifs? How to’s? And Why’s?, flood our minds. Visions of possible catastrophe dance before our eyes. Hope plummets with every ticking second.

I’ve learned some things through the darkest seasons that I would never know had God not allowed me to walk there. And my faith was sustained by God’s grace by putting these five things into practice.

Here are 5 ways to keep hoping when hope is waning:

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Hope in Troubling Times

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Hope in Troubling Times

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life.

Psalm 138:7a (ESV)

The first daffodils are blooming here in the South with bright golden hues, and the first day of March ushered in 80-degree temperatures. Certainly, Spring is in the air, and I must say I’m welcoming it after two snow falls in January (a rarity). And just as the weather has already set records in this new year, this season in my heart revealed its own record of pain––my family has experienced another great loss.

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Finding Beauty in the Darkness

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Finding Beauty in the Darkness

The light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1:5 ESV

The weather report revealed snow actively falling which sent me bounding across the hardwood floors to open the door and peer outside. Snow is so rare here in the South that when it comes I don’t want to miss it. At first glance I could not see it. Its beauty was obscured by the darkness of the night. It was only when I shifted my gaze to the streetlight that I could see the wisps of powder circling in the air. My soul quieted as the fluffy flakes fell. I wanted to perch by the window in a state of wonder at the glory showering down from heaven.



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A Christmas Prayer for Grieving Hearts

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A Christmas Prayer for Grieving Hearts

Today is the day.


I sit here staring at the twinkling white lights on my Christmas tree as “Silent Night, Holy Night––All is calm, All is bright,” rings softly in my ears. But I’m struggling to stay calm and things don’t feel so bright. There’s a knot in my stomach and a choke in my throat as I walk through this day with a weight on my chest that I can't bear on my own. The beauty and the pain of the season intertwines together. And I wonder if this is what it truly means to hold joy in one hand while grief weighs heavy in the other.

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Beautifully Broken: The Chronic Illness Diagnosis

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Beautifully Broken: The Chronic Illness Diagnosis

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” (John 12:24-25 KJV)

I stepped into the doctor’s office with trepidation. I had read enough online to be almost certain of the looming diagnosis. Honestly, I had avoided setting the appointment earlier in hopes that the symptoms would disappear, or miraculous healing would occur.

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Finding God’s Provision in Panic

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Finding God’s Provision in Panic

“And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.” (Exodus 13:21 ESV)

Slowing to a stop, I began surveying my surroundings. Cars blocked me on all sides. My breathing became shallow, my heart rate quickened, and my clammy hands clutched the steering wheel––with tunnel vision, my head swam. I was stuck!

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