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The time in which we are living is unsettling. Disease, hostility, and loss seem to be everywhere. Many of us have felt our anxiety levels rise even as we try desperately to hold onto our trust in God.

We all need to be reminded that God sees, hears, knows, and loves us.

The KNOWN virtual event has been created as a way to invite God’s presence to rain down upon you. Together, we will hear words from Psalm 139 that invite us to connect to the powerful presence of God in our lives.

Registration is open now for this FREE event, check out the link in my bio!

Happiest of birthdays to the man of my dreams! Thank you, @tomdixoniv , for loving me and Thomas like Jesus. We love you!

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
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Galatians 2:20
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📷 Notre Dame, Paris 2010

I was fresh out of college, up early and getting ready for a day of job searching. I walked past the TV on my way to the bathroom and stopped when I saw what was on the news. I immediately called my aunt, who raised me after my mother died, and she told me to get back in bed. Not to avoid the reality of it, but to process the shock of what was happening and mourn for our nation. So that's exactly what I did.

Where were you?

I'm typing this from a hotel in Harrisburg, PA, where my family and I are staying for my son's hockey tournament this weekend. We are one block from a downtown church and its church bells ring out every hour 💜

When I miscarried our second child five years ago, I felt like I couldn't talk about it in public. I am so thankful for my friend Rachel, who is passionate about supporting women who have dealt with pregnancy loss. She has recently released a new book called Unexpecting: Real Talk on Pregnancy Loss and I know it will encourage many. Be sure to enter the giveaway and connect with her in the latest on the blog – a guest post by Rachel on finding your faith after the worst has happened. Link in the bio!

God is good.
God is faithful.
God is Holy.
God is love.
God is merciful.
God is compassionate.
God is slow to anger.
God loves me.
God is a promise-keeper.
God forgives me.
God is my redeemer.
God is in control.
God has a plan.
God never slumbers.
God watches over me.
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What would you add?

Happy Monday! Today, I'm making final tweaks on an ecumenical video teaching project and planning for the launch of a new women's ministry program at my church 😍 I've stepped into the Women's Ministry Coordinator role there and I am SO EXCITED to get things going.
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And yes I know it's crazy to ask this of you on a Monday, but could I have 3 minutes of your time? I would love your input on a quick ministry survey so that I can serve you better in the following year. Chime in at the link in my bio. Please and thank you!
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I'm rooting for you today!

God isn’t looking for perfect people who know how to do everything right.
He’s looking for people who are willing to choose habits of faithfulness. He will
direct the outpouring of our time spent with Him to spill over where it needs to.

This is our manifesto as emulators of Jesus: Worship. Word. Pray. Obey.
We will fulfill our purpose on earth when we routinely display these patterns of
determined faithfulness.

From my six-week Bible study, Determined: Living Like Jesus in Every Moment. Explore the study at the link in my bio.
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#DeterminedStudy

What would happen if we started considering our battle with anxiety as an opportunity to trust Jesus more?

I've got a rather large toolbox labeled anxiety battle, filled with things I use during seasons of high anxiety. Today, I want to share with you one of the quick tips I use to stop my anxious thoughts.

It probably sounds a bit silly and it's rather simple, but it works.

I make my brain point out obvious things.

👉The carpet is blue.
👉The sun is shining.
👉My shirt is wrinkled.
👉We are out of milk.

However many basic and obvious things I've got to point out until my thoughts settle, I keep doing it.

But I don't stop there.

Then I open my Bible and start filling my brain with the voice of God. It sets a new groove pattern for my brain and it works to calm my breathing and shift my focus on Him, instead of my anxious thoughts.

What's your favorite verse you turn to when you are anxious?

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. – 1 Thessalonians 5:11

When I consider the jobs that God has given me over the course of my life and the situations He has placed me in, few of them could be described as easy or simple. Almost all of them have been challenging, but I think that’s precisely His point. What does God want me to learn?

If I continually look at only my qualifications for a particular task, I will come up short every single time. God places us in situations that require Jesus’ strength and compassion to remind us that His grace is sufficient for all of our needs, and for the needs of those around us. When we are woefully inadequate, but we choose to love anyway, it is Jesus that shines, not us. How else might the world see His love and power?

When we let compassion and kindness pour from His deep well and into our words and actions, Jesus receives all the glory. We don’t need to worry if we are not qualified for a particular task; it is the grace of Jesus that covers us in all that we do. His grace will equip us with the strength to finish the task at hand and His glory will be known.

Lord, help me embrace the tasks you have set before me by relying on Your grace alone.

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.’ Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

I like the start of school season better than the new year. Why? Nothing spurs a fresh start feeling like organizing school supplies, planning your fall calendar, and ushering in that first breath of crisp, fall air. Well, North Carolina isn't there on the crisp air yet but there's hope.

It's more than that though. I'm thinking about how God's promise for renewal never ends. It is not stagnant. It is active, alive, and continual. We can believe this in our hearts, but you can also see a tangible revelation of this every morning.

If you've ever watched the sunrise in action, you know it changes quickly. As the sun rises, the sky shifts and moves and glows, coming alive with every stroke of God's hand. In just one minute you might see colors too numerous to count. Clouds in every possible shape. Every sunrise is a one-of-a-kind painting that will never be duplicated, just renewed every single morning. It is active, alive, moving, and beckoning God's creation to waken and start anew with a fresh day.

Birds chirp a morning greeting and fresh dew graces the grass. His creation is a distinct echo of reality that you can start over. You can try again. You will see the goodness of God in the land of the living.

This is the glorious walk of life with Jesus. New beginnings. Renewed stories. Hope for what lies in the day ahead. So if today wasn't what you expected, it's okay. Tomorrow comes. Deep breath. You can do this. I am rooting for you. And more importantly, so is your Heavenly Father.

Adapted from my 4-week Bible study on Ruth, Renewed: Finding Hope When You Don't Like Your Story. Explore the study at the link in my bio.

Shout-out to the reader who sent me this shirt 💜 And fist bumps to all my EDS warrior friends 👊

I'm speaking to a youth gathering tonight on the power of God's Word + the impact our words have on others. What would you tell them?