20 Bible Verses About Thanking God in Hard Times

Give thanks

It’s not hard to thank God when you receive what you’ve asked for, but what about when you’re waiting on him for his deliverance? Having an attitude of gratitude is God’s will for us, regardless of our circumstances. Studies show that gratitude has tremendous social, physical, and emotional benefits, especially when practiced during times of […]

The Living and Abiding Word of God

The Word Endures Forever

If body language could tell the story, a cursory glance at the two men on the dusty Zimbabwean road revealed they were at an impasse. With his arms folded and brow furrowed, everything about the Zimbabwean man revealed his skepticism of the missionary who pleaded with him to receive Christ. He wasn’t about to accept […]

Jesus Is Our Living Hope

Dear Elect Exiles

As a kid, I learned to brace myself for conversations that began with, “When I was your age…”. It seemed harmless enough, but it was code for, ‘Stop what you’re doing and listen to how much better things used to be.’ I usually enjoyed the stories that followed, but I listened with a bit of […]

20 Bible Verses About God Answering Prayers

Pray with confidence

Have you ever prayed for something for so long that you wondered if God was hearing you? When answers are slow, it’s natural to feel like your prayers are not being heard, but the Bible tells us the exact opposite. The Apostle John writes to believers in 1 John to remind them that they shouldn’t […]

20 Bible Verses on Spending Time With God

Time in God's Word

If you’ve been around babies, you know they have a distinct ability to communicate their needs–by crying. They cry because they need milk, comfort, and attention, and the volume and intensity of their cries prompt us to respond quickly. We want to meet their needs as soon as possible so they’ll stop crying!   Have you […]

20 Bible Verses for Revival and Spiritual Awakening

Are you cold hearted?

It can happen so slowly it’s imperceptible at first. Hitting snooze here. Overscheduling there. Skipping church here and there. These “little” decisions, while sometimes necessary, if left unchecked, can eat up our time and harden our hearts. Before we know it, we can’t remember the last time we desired to be in the Word or […]

How to Talk to Your Teens About Taylor Swift’s New Album

For those with Swifties in the House

Taylor Swift and I have a complicated relationship. She doesn’t know it, but we do. It started in 2015 when my husband and I surprised our oldest daughter with concert tickets for her “1989 World Tour.” We purchased the tickets months in advance and planned a mini-vacation around it. I was a Swiftie and excited […]

20 Bible Verses to Help You Overcome Procrastination 

Make the best use of your time

“I’ll get to it tomorrow.” Or at least that’s what we tell ourselves when we put off today’s unwelcome tasks for another day. We could do it today, but doing it tomorrow feels better, at least when we push it out of our minds now. But inevitably, tomorrow becomes today, and our unfinished business weighs […]

20 Bible Verses About Putting Others First

Putting others first

All day, I waited for the call that the “package” had been delivered. As the hours ticked by, we learned it was taking a long time because it was making a cross-country journey from somewhere in New York to my mom’s hospital room in California. I pictured an unsung hero clutching an Igloo cooler on […]

20 Bible Verses For When You Feel Like Giving Up

don't get up

The bad news kept coming like sheets of rain pounding against a window. First, we learned of a betrayal in our extended family that rocked us to our core, shattering what little hope was left that the relationship could survive. The grief that accompanied these revelations brought life-altering decisions to our table, and the stress […]