Backbone

We should not break the backbone of our faith for the sake of not cramping our style. Still, we tend to hang our hopes on weighty issues that even the most solid of backbones was never meant to carry. So we address popular opinions, but hopefully without tweaking ours to suit theirs. In The Message Bible, Matthew 5:14-16 reads, "You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven." Do we shine brightly with this truth mixed with grace, or are we merely blending in with the crowd?

Expectations

Expectation greets me at the start of a new day. It always leaves me feeling eager for great things and sometimes feeling anxious that I might settle for lesser things. So I pick up God's word with hopes that I might never fail to have any expectations at all because I serve a big God who is capable of big things. How about you? Do you greet each day with great expectations of an even greater God? If not I want to encourage you to read Ephesians 3:20, "Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think."

Ink

I dreamed at night in black and white, the color of ink printed on a page. I dreamed of stories to be told from the exact same pen I hold. But dreams fade away when night turns to day as I wake with scribbles written on my heart. And as ideas run through my head, I jump out of bed to put onto paper what God has put on my heart, for "we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16)."

Together

If we start trying to carve out a niche for ourselves with the hopes of not stepping on toes or burning bridges, then we are meant to do magnificent things. But if anyone achieves their dreams at the cost of sacrificing relationships, then their mission is flawed and life will feel lonely at the top. So let's pursue our passions by taking people with us along the way. After all, "All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it."-1 Corinthians 12:27

Summer Inspiration

Sometimes the idea of summer seems to swallow me up. Just the thought of the calendar makes me wonder if I make my schedule or if my schedule makes me. So I step into a place that always feels familiar: my kitchen. In my family, the kitchen is the hub of our home. And somewhere in the midst of lemons and lentils, words flow easily from my heart to the pen to the page. For me, continuing to write through the busy summer months will come most naturally when I take time to dish up something substantial, whether onto our plates or onto the page. How about you? Does finding comfort in the familiar free you up to write during the busy summer months?

Busy

I have hid behind a curtain of activity with hopes that a prompting "to be" rather than "to do" would eventually subside. But in my heart I knew that busyness did not equate with obedience. I can be busy doing things for God, but they may not be the key things he planned in advance for me to do. Does busyness have you distracted today? If so, "... let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds..." -Hebrews 10:22-24

Calling it Quits

I do not want to live like a Christian who clocks in and clocks out, just as much as I do not want to live with the kind of Christianity I can do with my eyes closed. So I am calling it quits from the routine and the ordinary to pursue the ways God wants me to live, whether they fit on a calendar or not. When I read Isaiah 55:8-9, I understand that I cannot simply try to pencil God into my daily life, "'My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,' says the Lord. 'And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.'" I cannot read that passage without feeling compelled to want so much more. Could God also be challenging you to put the ordinary aside and embrace with open arms the amazing plans he has for your life?