Born to be Free

As people with beautiful souls in a broken world, we've become well acquainted with many kinds of fear. There's the fear of failing that test; not finding a job; never feeling better; never finding out where we fit in all of this. It will manifest itself in a variety of ways.  It might be the worry that makes all your days seem unbearably long yet agonizingly too short - the kind that is the source of your gray hair.  Fear could be what drives you to tears and panic as you're held a captive to your own mind. Fear isn't make-believe.  You can't tell someone they can't be sad because others have it worse any more than you can say they can't be happy because others have it better.  Sometimes it takes a re-working of the schedule, a weeding out of stress.  Other times it requires a re-working of both mind and spirit, a tearing down of the Devil's strongholds. But do you know what else? Fear is a lie.   Whole multitudes of shrieking fal...

Yesterday, my little sister fell asleep on my lap, and it hit me - how much I'm going to miss these days. People live in different mindsets, some are great at focusing on the subject at hand.  I'm not one of those people. When I was little, all I could ever think of was growing up, seeing the world - and I suspect that many people have done the same.  My nine-year-old self wanted to be an Egyptologist and solve the ancient mysteries of the pharaohs.  I wanted to do great things with my life, and frankly I've never lost that thought - to dare greatly. Fast-forward to the teen years, when people begin the great and treacherous journey to discover who they are and where they belong in the world.  We're a people looking forward to when we'll know more, but still looking back and wishing things were like they used to be. When I was sixteen, I began Bible Quizzing - something that God used to rock my world and turn my life upside down in the best of ways.  No...

There's a whole, wide world out there. Does it sometimes seem too wide?  A bit too big for little old you and me? Maybe it's because we feel too small for the job.  Maybe we think somebody else could do it better.  Moses certainly thought the same thing.  In Exodus 4, it is written -  " But Moses said to the  Lord , “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but  I am slow of speech and of tongue.”   Then the  Lord  said to him, “Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the  Lord ?     Now therefore go, and  I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”    We tell ourselves that there are better leaders out there, better friends, better writers.  But here's the thing - if God wanted somebody else to do your job, He wouldn't have given it to you.  1 Corinthians 7:17 says "Only le...

Many of us as Christians are wrapped up in evangelism, spreading the gospel to others and seeing their lives freed from the grip of evil.  It's the Great Commission and it needs to be lived out every day. But there's something else we need to be doing too - Preaching the gospel to  ourselves . Our very own Jesus, when the devil himself was standing in front of Him - what defense did He choose?  How did He refute the prince of darkness? He quoted scripture. This God incarnate - He's the Master of heaven and earth and could've called on His army of angels, but chose words instead. They say the pen is mightier than the sword - but the pen of God is a two-edged sword wielded by an all-consuming fire of a God. The Word of God is the greatest weapon for fending off the enemies of God. The devil will whisper lies into your heart every day - sometimes he'll even  shout  them.  But you almost never know it's him talking. That's the thing - all thos...

This week I'm leaving for Washington to visit a friend and help her move. Traveling has played a fairly large part in my life this year - physically and spiritually. Between Bible Quizzing competitions out of state, the trip to Canada, and a journey to the Carolinas - much of the past twelve months I've been discovering new parts of the world, and new sides of myself. When this year began, I decided to choose a word to live by for the remainder of 2017.  Feeling like I often ran away from the hard things God brought my way - I chose a three letter word - "yes".  I was done avoiding the things He had called me to do, and so I said yes. Yes to journeying out of the country, to restoring relationships, to not being dominated by my fear.  Yes to speaking up and stepping out, and learning that love is both the simplest and the hardest thing to give.  Yes to caring for the people around me, but remembering that I can't ignore my own soul in the process.  How c...

I've always been a deeply feeling person. Whether it's a tragic book ending, a triumphant battle-cry, a friend's depression, or the changing of Earth's seasons - my heart is greatly invested in the joys and the sorrows of the things and people around me. "This is their problem, not yours.  You don't need to concern yourself with it." "Yes, they're leaving.  A lot of people do.  Someday you'll just have to get used to it." But for some reason, I'd rather not get used to it. Maybe I am overcaring and sensitive - but I don't want to live life numb.  I would rather be vulnerable and risk letting my heart be broken sometimes than to be blind to the beauty of this world.  Even the beauty of the broken things and the broken people. I believe that God created us with emotions.  Though it is inherently sinful to let our feelings guide us to the point of murder, covetousness, and idolatry - it is not sin to feel other things. It...

Most likely you woke up today with your first thought being "What needs to get done?"  Life seems like a race sometimes and aren't we just trying to hold it all together?  Not just for ourselves, but for everybody else too? You can rise and breathe in the first morning air and forget Who first breathed it into you. You can walk to the sink and fill the glass unknowing of what a miracle it is - how your cells join forces and fight to keep you alive. There is nothing ordinary about the "ordinary".  We forget Who He is and just what He's doing in each of us. We overlook the miracle of living and the One Who is redeeming us, day after day.  All our mistakes, all our failures, our brokenness - crafted into beauty.  Day by day. " '...Fear not, for I have  redeemed  you; I have called you by name, you are Mine'...'You are My witnesses,' declares the Lord, 'and My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me and und...