• Devotionals

    Find Your Own Promise

    “Fear not; you will no longer live in shame. Don’t be afraid; there is no more disgrace for you. You will no longer remember the shame of your youth and the sorrows of widowhood. For your Creator will be your husband; the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name! He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth” (Isaiah 54:4-5, NLT). Every once in a while I come across a passage of Scripture that makes my hair stand up. Gives me the chills. Sometimes I start weeping. Sometimes I giggle until I am laughing uncontrollably. Either way. I just found my own promise, and…

  • Faith,  Relationships

    I'm Engaged!

    12 years, 10 months, and 24 days ago–God promised me a husband. On August 13, 2011, Marc asked me to be his wife! I’m engaged!!! For those of you who have not had the opportunity to meet Marc, please let me introduce you to him: Marc grew up in San Marcos, CA. He has three sisters: Marsha, Alicia, and Sandra. He has two degrees from Cal State San Marcos, Math and Computer Science. He has taught English in Kazakhstan, hiked the Himalayas in Nepal, and in his spare time he loves to read the writings of past missionaries and revivalists. He works as a Software Engineer for Teradata, and just…

  • Devotionals,  Faith

    20-somethings need a home

    In today’s economy it’s pretty rare for a 20-something to own their own home. Especially in California. At the very least it’s even more rare to live in a stable living environment (that’s not their parents). A safe place. Tonight, after leading another week of the Summer Book Study it hit me. 20-somethings need a home. My friend Summer’s graciously allowed us to meet in her home the past three weeks, and it’s fostered so much more than a Panera or a Starbucks ever could. Why? Because there’s less people. Less distraction. Less noise. No interference. You get the picture. Remember those drawings we used to make when we were…

  • Devotionals

    Silence Speaks

    “Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “But who will be able to endure it when he comes?” – Malachi 3:1-2a, NLT In my own version of the Bible–Renee 3:16 says “when” and “how long” I must wait. But in the days of Malachi, they didn’t have anything to go off. And all we see is a single white blank page in our Bibles. Silence speaks. But all too often, it’s…

  • Relationships

    The List

    I don’t care if you’re single, in a relationship, or already married…if you’re breathing you’ve made “the list” of what you want in your partner. Taken from my book “Not Another Dating Book” that releases Valentine’s… “When I was a kid I made a list of all the qualities I was looking for in a mate. I didn’t get much farther than tall, dark hair, blue eyes. When I got older, I added other words to the list. Leader. Communicator. Compassionate. Encouraging. I kept building it out, describing my perfect man. Wants children. Virgin. Well-read. Likes to cook. Doesn’t smoke. Doesn’t swear. Comes from a Christian family. Good hygiene. Pays…

  • Devotionals,  Faith

    Daddy Issues

    “I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me” (John 15:15, NLT). “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father'” (Romans 8:15, NLT). Last week I posted 34 Pre Engagement Questions that Marc and I have been going through. I wanted to highlight truth I learned while using another tool “Family Matters.” It has questions like “List what you feel are the positive qualities of your father/mother”…