• On Writing

    Reflections on Life and Failure

    Tonight, I write to make sense of life and reflect on failure too. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed hosting guest bloggers for the past few months, but I felt a stir in my spirit tonight. So, instead of sleep, I will listen to that still small voice and write. Write aloud. Write to heal. I started a series called Monday Meditations last month and it has not gone well. In fact, it failed. I wouldn’t be surprised if I got more than 30-40 hits per blog. Compared to the almost hundreds (sometimes thousands) of hits I got for previous series including I Survived My 20s or Pre Engagement Questions–this is shocking. Well,…

  • Faith,  Relationships

    I Survived My 20s – Consequences

    [Guest Post by Tish] – As a young girl, I dreamed of the day that my very own Prince Charming would sweep me off my feet. I never once imagined that at age 29, I would still be single and dealing with the consequences of Herpes. I grew up in a Christian home, memorizing verses from the Bible, practicing hymns on the piano, and dressing up in my Sunday best for Church every week. I believed in God, even felt His calling once in a while, but I was soon to learn how shallow my faith and understanding of His power was. The chinks in my armor started to show…

  • Faith,  Relationships

    I Survived My 20s – Fatherless

    [Guest Post by Anonymous] – From a very young age, I knew the Lord. I was lucky to have grown up in the church, and was strong in my faith. God knew that he had to prepare me at an early age for what I would be up against. Secrecy. Shame. Pain. I am fatherless. As a teenager I was forced to hold a terrible secret, one I knew when change my life forever if I ever spoke of it. I did all that I could to hide the hurt of what happened to me. I walked through life as if in a dream or a daze, and put a…

  • Relationships

    I Survived My 20s – Rape

     [Guest Post by Laura] – Finally at the age of twenty six–I was settling into my own apartment in a country that I loved to do the ministry that God had called me to do. With the help of teammates I had successfully managed to purchase a car, appliances, furniture and other necessities. While these are things that most people do earlier in their twenties, my early twenties had been spent moving between countries and ministries, always living in a furnished apartment or at my parents. The next day was a staff meeting, and I was looking forward to suggesting a few ministry ideas that I had. Plus, I had…

  • Faith,  Relationships

    I Survived My 20s – Regret

    [Guest Post by Kristin Tennant] – What is this thing people call a “honeymoon period?” Because it’s something the first decade of my adult life was seriously lacking. We got married at 22. Sure, we had a honeymoon–a week-long trip to the Massachusetts coast–but it ended the day we pulled back into the driveway of our first home, a small, upstairs apartment in an old house. Within a week of trying to figure out what it really meant to be married–to share a bathroom and a bed, to make daily decisions together for two rather than just for one–I was sobbing on the phone with my mom. What had I…

  • Devotionals,  Faith,  Relationships

    What's Your Story – Ashley

    [Guest Post by Ashley] I always had a close relationship with God, and felt I could always lean on Him. In high school, I got a job at a leather store in the mall. I was a trainer on the football team and fell head over heels for popular guy on the team. I had my whole life planned out. I wanted to be a stay at home mom and be an active part of a church. I knew I wanted to save myself for marriage, but I started to drift from God. He wasn’t into going to church or praying. I ended up dating him and we had a…

  • Devotionals,  Faith,  Relationships

    What's Your Story – Brittany

    I want to introduce to Brittany Erbaugh. She was my first roommate ever! We met in San Antonio, TX because of a nine-month discipleship-training program, “Ambassador For Christ.” She was my roommate and classmate. Because of her influence, she made me watch all three of Lord of the Rings movies. And to get her back, I hooked her on the CBS show, “Survivor (she still watches it). And, one thing we did agree on was Blue Bell Ice Cream, Chick fil A, and ABC’s Lost. But, enough about our relationship! Brittany is all too familiar with her spiritual battle and mine. I left Texas before I had the chance to…

  • Devotionals,  Faith,  Relationships

    Permission For Peace

    Sometimes, you need to give yourself permission for peace.  I’m letting you know right now this post is going to rock your world. I may get vulgar and you might not like it. But that’s what we do when we transition. Isn’t it? We get rude. In your face. At first we think it’s our right. We were the ones wronged. What happens when that apology we’re waiting for never comes? I can’t tell you how frustrated life’s challenges have been in my life to the point where I refused to stay silent–and I’m the one who got burned. What the? #1. Like that time my former coworker tried to…

  • Devotionals,  Faith

    Permission To Transition

    Sometimes, you need to give yourself permission to transition. Why? Because no one else can do it for you. This past week has been the most amazing spiritual high ever and I feel I may never come down. It’s not an emotional high, but the benefits of walking obediently. Two weeks ago, I wrote a confession. That I was going to take the rest of the year off from traveling, speaking, and writing my next book. It’s so weird. Since then God has blessed me even more that I can hardly stand it! I can’t help but rejoice that the Lord reigns in my life–and I pray yours as well.…

  • Devotionals,  Relationships

    God Said Man Said

    God said man said goes something like this: God said: “Speak to that rock.” Man said: “[Struck] the rock twice with his staff.” What’s wrong with this picture? Sounds to me God and Moses were saying two different things. I was reading Numbers 20 in my One-Year Bible this week, and couldn’t help but see a familiar picture. God says one thing; we do another. Or he (or she) says one thing, and we say (or do) another. It Starts With A Problem (Doesn’t it always?) “Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron” (Numbers 20:2, NIV). No matter how…