life. faithful.

For those who really know me (or those who have been reading this blog for a while), this will come as no surprise: I like to be in control of things, to know just how everything is going to work out. I like to have a plan. If you ask my mom, she'll probably tell you that my mantra has always been, " I can do it myself ." I have always been an incredibly independent person. I can usually figure my way through a difficult situation, and I've always taken pride in that. I don't like to ask for help--I'm perfectly capable of working things out for myself, thank you. Only, sometimes I'm not. That's something that has taken me a long time to be able to admit (and something I'm still working on, to be honest). I've always tried to be strong, to stand on my own two feet and face whatever life throws at me. The thing is, that's not what God wants from me. God doesn't want my strength, because He has more than enough of His o...

This life is hard--sometimes unbearably so. Just yesterday, an amazing couple with a strong faith lost their son to a mysterious, aggressive illness. A sister lost her brother, her kids lost their uncle, some sweet friends lost their cousin, and a whole host of people lost a friend. Life hits hard sometimes, hard enough to knock us flat. In those times, the times when we need God the most, it's incredibly hard to see Him. It's like when the disciples were in the boat and a storm came up without warning. They were facing the wind and the waves, fighting desperately to keep the boat from sinking--struggling to just keep from drowning. All the while, Jesus was sleeping. (Matthew 8:23-27) We cry out like David, "Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God . ...

Veterans Day. Today is one of those days that are a bit hard for me. Today, we honor all those who have served. Today, we say thank you... ~to all those who have given of themselves for the sake of freedom. ~to all who give up their own precious time to serve and protect. ~to those who believe freedom is worth fighting for. ~to the strong. ~to the brave. ~to the courageous. ~to those who stand on the front lines to protect those they love--and those they've never met. ~to those who are scared, but who do the job anyways. ~to the faithful. ~to those who are tired, but know they'll rest when the job is done. ~to all those who choose to take a stand. ~to those who unselfishly take on an often thankless job. ~to the wounded, some with wounds that everyone notices and others with wounds the rest of us will never see. ~to the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, and Marines.   We say thank you, but the words don't seem like enough to honor the sacrifices made b...

I have a love-hate relationship with social media. On one hand, I love that I'm able to keep in touch with-- or, let's be honest here, act like a creepy stalker and look at all their pictures without actually ever being in contact with -- a bunch of people from my past who I would never know anything about otherwise. I love getting to see baby pictures and wedding pictures and school pictures and albums of beautiful places I'll most likely never get to see in person. I love reading status updates that show excitement for new jobs, new houses, and new loves. I smile regularly when I get online, which is wonderful. I like to smile. On the other hand, though, I hate social media. It becomes an easy place for people to post personal things they would never share with other people under other circumstances, things I would really rather not hear about--or worse yet, see pictures of! I don't like the animosity that pours out of people online. For some reason, the ...