I have a terrible habit of overscheduling myself. It’s near impossible to say no to others, my friends, or even myself. This desperate need to take on more and more is another branch of perfectionism. It starts when I find a new project, and I can’t pick and choose what I take on. Because choosing just one creative project or just one new business venture is too difficult a decision, I resort to planning a strategy to handle it all…
Mistakes are inevitable, but too often we allow them to damage our self-esteem. I stumble with my words. Words are supposed to be “my thing,” but I can’t seem to communicate with concision and clarity in spontaneous verbal conversations. I backtrack, I revise, and I start on side trails, all in an attempt to explain myself. Naturally, I take on the weight of carrying the conversation and the pressure to come up with interesting conversation topics. I naturally can’t think…
Challenging seasons are an expected part of life in this broken world. I naturally focus on the negative, and complaining is an everyday battle. God calls us to tame the urge to complain and endure faithfully instead. In this article, I review Paul’s outline to help God’s people in a season of suffering. My season of struggling Last year was a challenging year. God has blessed me with a stable family, consistent community, and unchanging house situation. But after COVID-19…
Connection is arguably a driving force of humanity. We crave connection with friends, family, and even ourselves. Society prizes connection communities, whether within the confines of a household or the limits of a town. Community is strongly associated with love. Love is the principal foundation of the Bible, the gospel within it, and the motivation of the God we serve. Becoming more connected to God is important not only for ourselves but for others as well. If we are connected…
While the fear in doubt tempts us to hide from the possibility that God is not the truth, God Himself is eager to answer our questions and lay our doubts to rest. The skepticism we face can be re-evaluated to be not a weapon for our destruction but nourishment to our faith and knowledge of the Bible. Therefore, we must process the question and ask God for the answer, honestly coming to him with authentic open-heartedness, with no expectation or…
Doubt sounds like such a shameful word. It’s something we often run from as Christians. Yet it appears in many different ways, from doubt in God’s existence to doubt in our salvation to disbelief in God’s sovereignty. Give yourself grace “For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar.” Romans 3:3-4 NKJV Just as God shows us mercy every time…
After closing one of the longest years of my life, I quickly jumped into the new year, prepping for school and feverishly organizing and writing and all the things I needed to finish. But one word kept returning during my busyness, both in reflecting on the past year and in conversations with friends. I’ve covered the topic of security before, but only on how it relates to identity and inner turmoil. But I realized I couldn’t answer the question, “How…