Our picture perfect 1930’s charmer of a home decided to leave us a gift Monday morning—a stinky, wet gift. Our sewer line was leaking from our upstairs bathroom into our basement. For the first time in my life, I was starting to believe that Mondays really are bad days…I was getting fed up. Reflecting on other recent mishaps and getting stuck in the murkiness of our current stressors was doing me no good. I kept thinking of how well I’d been composing myself, how proud I was of myself for not blowing up in any of these unfortunate moments like I may have in the past.

3 Questions to Help You Thrive in Every Season

Life is filled with seasons. Good seasons, difficult seasons, busy seasons, restful seasons, seasons of gain, and seasons of loss. There is beauty in every season. Unfortunately, we often miss the beauty in our current season because we are too busy either dreaming of the next season or reminiscing and remembering the last season. If we are living in a difficult season, our last season often becomes abnormally good in our minds. We only remember the good parts and often wish we could return, but the reality is, every season has good and bad. We can choose to focus on the good or we can choose to focus on the bad.

Reveal Yourself

This is the mindset getting me through this season. Not the news headlines. Not the change of pace in my day-to-day life, or the fact that I will most certainly go stir crazy considering I won’t be working for the next few weeks. I am not defined by staying home or "not helping to provide” when circumstances are outside of my control. I am defined by what is constant in my life. The unchanging. Since I fully believe accepting Christ as my savior means He lives within my heart and has made me new, I carry Him with me always. So, if the never-changing Father that is God lives within me, He is the consistency that runs through me always.

Waiting is Hard

Patience does not come naturally to most people. We see something we want, and we want it now. We live in a culture that is continually getting us the things we want faster. It’s human nature to want to escape difficult seasons. Life gets hard and we wish and hope and pray for the difficult season to end and a new season to begin. We don’t want to wait; and in the moment, we often don’t care if we are missing out on a long-term benefit. We just want the pain to end. We want the inconvenience to be over.

Purpose in Patience

Waiting isn’t torture—it’s the world in which you become who you need to be. Patience feels like you’re not moving, stuck in place. But nothing can be further from the truth. Active trials change you, but the days you spend in wait for what’s to come, have a way of molding you more than the big moments. When you can’t move, you start to pass the time by rediscovering who you are. Coming out of the chaos, you realize maybe you’re a little different. Maybe you want to make some changes or rewrite some goals because maybe you don’t even want the life you’ve been chasing after.

Three Ways to Restore Your Wonder

When was the last time you were overcome by the WONDER of God? What was that moment like? Did tears well up in your eyes? Did you cry, laugh or maybe even dance? Did you break out in praise or did you silently thank God for who He is? Was that moment recent or a distant memory? It can be tempting to become wrapped up in our daily lives and miss the wonder of God. We get anxious and stressed, overwhelmed and overscheduled. We barely have time to think, let alone notice God in our midst.

The Key to Overcoming Envy

It can be tempting for us to wish the other person wouldn’t succeed. We might even wish they would fail. We might also be tempted to compare ourselves to other people, find their flaws, and justify why we would have been a better choice to receive that blessing. However, if we allow envy to settle in our hearts, it will destroy us from the inside out! What should we do when we feel that tug in our heart that wants what someone else has? I think at our core, most of us want to be happy when other people succeed. We want to share in their excitement when they receive the reward.

Be a Flower that Blooms

Having Courage is very important. We often need to be courageous in situations we feel are impossible. Having courage does not necessarily mean you are going to win every battle or defeat every enemy, but it does mean you’re going to try—and with God by your side, you can go in face first and show Satan who he’s dealing with. With God, anything and everything is possible! One song that reminds me to have courage is called, “Surrounded” by Michael W. Smith. In the song it says, “This is how I fight my battles.” It talks about how we need to fight our battles by worshipping God.

Girl, You ARE Courage

In this pit of weakness and pain, in the place where we feel most vulnerable and least successful, that’s where courage lies. In the hardest moments, and in the dark places we hope to never return, we find the warrior in us. Courage isn’t something we earn. It’s not a badge pinned on after we fill our punch card of strife. Courage is buried at the heart of us. Courage is a bottomless well that finds its home with the holy spirit in us. Courage creeps up on us like a warm blanket in the midst of frigid realities. Some of us may spring up in a battle cry as it surrounds, while others simply keep their eyes open for the sun.

The Necessity of Being Still

At the beginning of the year, God whispered two words to my heart, “Be still.” I didn’t really know how He wanted me to apply those words to my life in this season, but I wanted to take Him seriously. So, I did all the things I knew to do. I prayed God would teach me to “be still.” I thought about those words and how they might apply to my life. I bought the “Be Still” artwork from the local Christian bookstore to hang above my desk so I would be reminded of God’s words. And then, I continued living my life as is. I have had seasons in my life when God has been silent. The beginning of this year was one of those seasons.

Endless Potential Through My Limitless God

We are a people destined for great things. Not just the mundane tasks of life, but big things. We are meant to partner with God and His will for our lives, so He may bless our hands as we create. We are meant to dream with our Father, so He may answer our greatest prayers for this life. The best part about our God is He sets no boundaries. He doesn’t tell us what is possible and what is not. People told Him he would not be risen from the grave, so He came back after death to walk amongst the living again. He has NO limit to what He can do. In knowing my God is the source of my potential, I have set no limits for myself.

Why Ambition is Stealing My Joy

It felt as if all of my ambition fell down the stairs with me that night, never to walk again. Well, nothing’s broken… so, I’ll walk again but you know what I mean. The much longed for solitude in which I create the best was destroyed in the careless slip of a step. Since falling almost two weeks ago, I’ve had to rely on my incredible loved ones and support system. Gosh, am I a lucky girl to have them. But, oh my goodness do I miss being me. I miss my get-up-and-go-ambition. I miss the strength of a well-abled body. Despite the breakdowns and moments of weakness, I’ve had the feeling the Lord is using this injury to teach me something.

You Need More Than Just Ambition

When I was 9-years-old, I wrote a book. It took a lot of ambition to write this book! I always wanted to write a book at a young age because I wanted to show you can do amazing things when you’re young! I knew when it was time to write it, God would say, "Go." On April 10, 2018, I heard God say "Go.” I went downstairs and went to my mom's room. I told her, "I'm going to write a book!” I took the computer, went outside with my Bible, notebook and pens, and sat there. I was just so ambitious and ready for this moment I kind of forgot I actually had to write a book!

Does Ambition Lead to Success?

I grew up believing ambition led to success. In school, if I studied and did the work, I would get an A. In sports, if I practiced hard, I was rewarded with more playing time. When I worked my first job, hard work equaled higher pay, more hours, and the admiration of my boss and coworkers. My achiever personality thrives in that environment! I can finish a project in record speed. When I set a goal, I don’t stop until that goal is completed. I love making lists and checking things off. (I’m one of those crazy people who writes something I just did on the list, just so I can cross it off…don’t laugh, I’m know I’m not the only one!)

Driven by Heavenly Thinking

I used to buy into my own lies that if I wanted a particular path in life too much, I would become too focused on myself and my desires to be a participant in the highs and lows of the lives of the people I cared about. I told myself in order to pursue my dreams of being a fashion designer in the buzzing hub of New York City, I would certainly have to give up friendships and family ties and my fantasy of being a mother to babies with chub rolls galore. I thought, in order to make it big, I had no choice but to toss out every other element that fueled the joy in my life in order to collect enough stored up energy to put nothing short of 100% of me into my life’s work.

Grateful in Love

"I'm sorry you have to love me." These words have fallen from both mine and my spouse's lips more than once. Nothing makes you feel more challenged and more inadequate than taking on the responsibility of jumping into a lifelong commitment with someone. I never saw life coming when we fell for each other. It all looked like bliss. But Disney lied, y'all! Being in love is hard, and I have yet to meet my fairy godmother or get my animals to talk back to me. Feeling love is simple but living that love is a lesson in humility, compassion, patience, and growth.

Burn Survivor Wears Her Crown with Victory

Scars, both physical and emotional don’t have to be a negative reminder of pain. Their very image shows the body’s strength and resilience. Dawn Monique Brown has bore her scars with confidence for the last 14 years after a traumatizing allergic reaction. While this experience altered her life forever, Dawn has claimed her victory — scars and all. Back in 2004, Dawn paid a visit to see the doctor about her cold — or, so she thought. She was diagnosed with a sinus infection and given medication to take for the next two weeks. Unfortunately, her symptoms worsened and she returned to the doctor.

Current Blog series: Purpose