What My Dog Taught Me About Fasting
I so often don't even notice the beautiful presence of God because of my frantic desire to take what I want, when I want it.
An Unanswerable Question
How do I convince young people in today's church that the ultimate prize is not marriage but a life unwaveringly committed to the cause of Christ? I model it for them. I ask you to do the same - married or single. We open our hearts and our homes to one another as the family of Christ.
When Hosannas Turn Silent
I walked through the train station on Wednesday like I was in a fog. Everything seemed muted and fuzzy and I noticed an acute absence of that joy, that wild praise that had driven my steps earlier in the week. That bursting-with-love heart I had carried had been replaced with the sad bruised one. Even breathing hurt.
Dear Single Girl (An Open Letter)
All those youth group sermons where you made lists of the qualities of the man you would marry - did anyone tell you that you can have a full, abundant life following the path God has laid out for you without waiting?
What to Get Your Teenage Daughter for Christmas + Peanut Butter Dream Bars
She had filled the pages with the recipes we had been raised on. Hot corn casserole from Thanksgiving dinners with the Padgetts. Mamaw's spicy potato soup that Dad still requests at every opportunity. Vinita's monster cookies that she made the dads for their early morning fishing trips. Grandma Marie's apple pie.
On Grief.
Some days she is there to remind me of favor and blessing. She sometimes slips in where I least expected her to remind me how very - lucky is not a strong enough word - lucky I am to have had something so wonderful, and it must have been quite wonderful to grieve it so strongly. Sometimes she holds my hand and won't let me forget beautiful things.
I Don't Have a Patchwork Heart.
I don't have a patchwork heart. Because the constructs of my heart are not dependent on man, or men, or circumstances of my life. The beating of my heart and the strength of its muscles are because I find myself in Christ.
Why I Don't Post About Politics
When we rant and yell about things we hate, we deepen the divide between Christians and non-Christians and even between ourselves and our brothers and sisters in Christ. I want to be known by the things I love, not the things I hate, and I want to share with you the things we agree on, the things we both have in common.
To Women in Ministry
And people will argue with you, confrontationally or passive-aggressively. And it will hurt your feelings. And people will use gender-exclusive language and they will refer to pastors as "men" and you will be invited to pastor's wives events even if you are single, but not to the pastor's events. And you may not see yourself represented on the platform or around the conference table.
This is Church
I told her that I was thankful for her. I told her that I needed her, that the church needs her, that we need to learn from her. I told her that there are things about Jesus that she understands that I can never understand, and that I envy her that. And we gulped in awkward silence as tears threatened to spill from our eyes.
Today I Remember (Good Friday)
Today I marvel at a love that says that even if you never did anything right, and even if you waited too long, and even if you ruined everything for yourself, the cross is for you. Today I remember that my own sin was enough to require blood, just as the thief's was.
This Winter
In so many ways this winter has been a reflection of this journey through the valley of death. We wait for spring. Each day we open the door desperate to feel warmth where the cold has cut through. Just when we think it's over, it comes back again, just as bad as the worst day.
Grief is Awkward.
Words can't fix it and acts of service can't change anything. To dance on eggshells with someone hoping and praying that you don't say the one wrong thing is cumbersome. Do they want you to ask? Do they want to avoid the topic? Should you offer words of comfort or say nothing?
How Did You Feel
I hope that the look on her face gets burned into my mind. Beyond her tangled blonde hair and her gangly limbs, I hope the hunger in her eyes stays with me. We are all hungry for honesty. For reality. For authenticity. The people I speak to need me to be honest, and I need to share my heart honestly.
Go Play With Someone Else Then
I find in my own life that there are risks I want to take and things I want to do that I am not doing because of what a handful of people will think. Because surely they will roll their eyes at me and then rejoice if I fail.
Thank You, Kim.
I was 13 years old and the youth pastor said they needed another keyboard player, so I came to learn what was up. The older, much cooler girl who played keyboard and wore cool makeup was showing me the ropes. She was good. Like, really really good. She had me play a couple songs. I was awful. Like, really really awful.