God Lovingly Thinks of You

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God Lovingly Thinks of You

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.

Psalm 139:17-18 ESV

I remember the first time I saw love with my eyes, held it in my arms, heard its cry, and smelled its wonder. It was the day my eldest niece was born.

After my sister endured a harrowing eighteen hours of labor, she was whisked away for surgery where this bundle of joy made an appearance into the world. And I will never forget that day.

My niece came adorned with a crown full of brown hair as soft as lamb’s wool that I gently caressed with my fingers. As I held her closely, I inspected every appendage and whispered, “I love you” to her again and again.

I wanted her to know she had an aunt who would love her forever. Thankfully, my sister and her husband allowed me to be the doting aunt I longed to be.

Looking back on that day—and the days following….

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Enduring to the End | Brianna Barrett Blog

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Enduring to the End | Brianna Barrett Blog

I’m honored to share one of the devotions found in my book 40 Days to God, My Father on my friend Brianna Barrett’s blog. You can find an excerpt below and click the link to read the full devotion.

He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness.” therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV

God never audibly said no to me. But on the day I turned forty years old, the hope that swelled in my heart to have children one day wouldn’t rise above the floor. Before that moment, I’d gripped expectation and pled with my whole heart for God to give me babies. As far back as I could remember I wanted five, but I resolved to settle for just one—it never happened.

Chronic illness stole my child-bearing years, and although forty is not too old to conceive, I knew my window of opportunity had slammed shut. This realization shook me with grief. Throughout that day, even during a surprise birthday party orchestrated by my husband, one question burned in my mind: Why, God?

Looking back on my fortieth birthday (over a decade ago)—the day I knew the Lord’s answer to my prayer for children was no—I latched onto God’s words to….

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How God Comforts Us: 4 Special Ways | Butterfly Living

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How God Comforts Us: 4 Special Ways | Butterfly Living

I’m honored to be a guest at ButterflyLiving.org. You can read an excerpt below and follow the link to read the full article.

“BEEP  B-E-E-P!” Our family’s brown Toyota Corolla’s horn echoed off the walls of the rock-walled tunnel we zipped through in the Smoky Mountains.

Daddy held his heavy hand down on the horn from the moment we entered the tunnel until our car popped into the sunshine on the other side. Belly laughs, and joyful squeals rang out from the back seat where I sat, squished between my brother and sister.

Being the youngest child, I was always summoned to sit in the middle. I abhorred the position most of the time, but my childhood family vacations only happened once a year, and I was glad for any place to enjoy the ride.

As the daughter of a pastor whose life seemed to always be under our small town’s microscope, I relished a week of uninterrupted time with Daddy and the rest of my family.

We enjoyed our adventures by dashing through the dark tunnels along the Smoky Mountain National Park highway with our car horns blaring. But other dark tunnels I’ve traveled through have not brought such exuberance. And one of those tunnels was a different kind of adventure…

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Our Heavenly Father Gives Comfort in the Valleys

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Our Heavenly Father Gives Comfort in the Valleys

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me; 

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 23:4 ESV

I associated the 23rd Psalm with death for most of my life. As a pastor’s daughter, I attended numerous funerals and the majority of those services––in some way––included Psalm 23. And I understand why. This psalm gives great comfort in times of mourning.

Yet, it’s not only a song to sing when we experience the darkness brought on by the loss of a loved one. It’s a passage to cling to in every dark experience we endure in this life.

Sometimes the darkness is in the form of rejection, an unexpected diagnosis, job loss, familial discord, or a child who walks away from the faith. In these valleys, we battle fear, despair, and doubt.

One miserable valley I’ve circled in and out of throughout my adulthood is….

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