Will God love my baby?
The subject line caught my attention. I opened the email to find a young woman pleading for advice. Lily* told me she became pregnant while engaged. The fear she felt seemed to seep through every word of her story. Why was she afraid? It seemed everyone around her was telling her the same message: God would […]
Should you settle for Mr. Good Enough?
There are some days when emotions take over. I want to stomp my foot and shout like a child, “It’s not fair!” There are far too many beautiful, incredible women (and men) wanting the right person to come along. Some are ‘putting themselves out there’, others aren’t. Some are ‘waiting on God’, others still treat sex […]
On loneliness and love
I rushed home after work to exercise before it was time to cook dinner. On my walk, I talked to a friend and the conversation shifted to loneliness and how it feels when friends and lists are not filling up our time, leaving us ragged. It seems everyone is too busy, too tired, too maxed out-but […]
Dad knows the way home
How can we get through unbearable pain? I remember thinking, “I will never get over this.” There was no way out. I didn’t care that people told me, “When God closes a door, he opens a window” or any other nice sayings that belonged in threads on a pillow, not something that was actually going to help. […]
Is God good?
Questioning God’s goodness We have a chalkboard in our family room that for the past four months has stated, “God is a good Dad.” I originally wrote the phrase on the board because I felt my heart straying towards anxiety and fear instead of embracing the truth I’ve often fought to believe: God isn’t a […]
Wounded healer? Or truth zinger?
She shared how her dad chastised her for not praying enough, listening to daily sermons, considering her ‘witness’ as she dressed each morning, among others. She was struggling with her self-worth and couldn’t find firm footing in her new faith. My dad has always been perfect and I spent four years drinking and partying and […]
God hasn’t forgotten you
Michael and I are driving home. Biting rain is hitting the windshield, but we press on. As wind through the mountains of North Carolina, I close my eyes and pray about what to say. “What do people need to hear, Dad?” The rain drummed on, but I had my answer. “Remind them that I haven’t […]
When God gives her a husband and you’re still single
Her email landed in my inbox just after 2am. “How could God give her a husband and not me? I’ve gone home alone a million times when she went home with a guy. I’ve waited and saved myself for my husband and she hasn’t. She’s cleaned up her act recently but she’s only spent 6 […]
Speak up, even if your voice shakes
I was finishing up my morning workout at the gym when he spotted me. It wasn’t normal, the way his eyes lingered and gazed up and down my body. I looked at the floor and focused on my workout. He approached me and I felt panicky and breathless, trying to brush away concern. There were […]
A Letter to Sexy-Instagram Posters
(This letter is in response to this controversial letter to a teenage girl from a mom who blocks sexy-posters her from her sons’ social media feeds. Dear Sexy-Instagram Poster, I see you. That feels like a good place to start. I see how you long to be beautiful, to be told you are beautiful. […]