Directly or indirectly, religion often teaches we need to be desperate enough for God to visit us, and that we have to behave well enough for him to fix the problems we can't. Eventually, that will show up in our lives as frustration and discouragement. Then we make things worse by punishing our failures, pain, …
After the Storm
I took this a couple years ago, after a pretty rough storm. You may feel like the flower looks—a little beat up after all you've been going through. Not perfect, but alive, healing, and getting stronger. You can focus on the damage the last storm did until the fear of another one takes control of …
Just Breathe
Breathe. God really does know what you're going through, and all you've been thinking and feeling. You may not understand everything right now, but you can know he hasn’t forgotten you for one moment. You are at the center of his vision, and always will be. "Keep me as the apple of your eye, and …
Step Back
When you find yourself getting overwhelmed by all the needs around you, give yourself permission to stop right where you are. Take a deep breath. All of this doesn’t depend on you. It just seems that way whenever we take the burdens off Jesus' shoulders and put them on ourselves. As soon as you look …
Vision
Hurt is an identity vision.Cynicism is a life vision.Judgment is a world vision.Fear is a generational vision. And they’re all really terrible ones. "When there’s no growing vision of who God is and what he's saying, people forget who they, and everyone else, really are in him" (Proverbs 29:18a). “Hurt people hurt people.” That saying …
Equip Your Spirit 