Hope is a tricky thing.

It bears a heavy weight–one that precariously balances the fruition of something yearned for while opening oneself up to devastating disappointment. In my story of abandonment and divorce, it often felt as if hope wasn’t…

The quiet, gradual approach of a Tennessee spring stirs my imagination as I consider its promise of renewal. Upon its arrival, we are given to reflect upon the goodness and joy of all things being made new once again, even…

Tragedy begins with a moment, then evolves into a season that does not end as quickly as it began. In my life, tragedy brought brokenness, but it was in that brokenness that His love transformed what I thought it “should…

After 10 years of marriage, I found out my husband had been abusing prescription pills throughout our entire marriage. He stole pills from my family, and the last time I caught him, it was from my best friend. At that…

January 18, 2013, will forever mark one of the most gut-wrenching days of our lives.

Even though William was still in utero, our love for him and what the future held was already beginning to take shape. But on that…

I have an odd confession to make for a girl who’s professed to be a Christian since childhood: until recently I didn’t “get Jesus." A few years ago, I remember telling a friend, “I understand and relate to God, who's…

The dark clouds of loss rolled in early for me. My parents, for a variety of reasons, couldn’t make their marriage work, and by the time I was four, their marriage was over. At a young age I became all…

Psalm 34:17-18 (NLT)
The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles.The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

“Can you come here?” my…

We were just about a week away from relocating our family of five from Middle Tennessee to a town halfway around the world in the Netherlands when my best friend invited me to a Bible study on Nehemiah. With the…

Do you ever find yourself asking the question, “Why God, Why?” 

We’ve asked that question countless times throughout our marriage, especially over the last two and a half years of trying to grow our family. In this season of waiting,…

“Read this book, son; I think you'd like it. It's Abide In Christ by Andrew Murray.” That's the last book my dad would give me. A couple years went by after that, but I never read it. Written in 1895,…

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 (NIV)

Divorce. A word I never thought I would hear, much less a path I would have to walk. 

Divorce brings with it many forms of grief. Some hard…

My husband Jake and I were married in 2020. Just eight months later, we were overjoyed—and a little scared—to find out we were pregnant. I was so hopeful, so happy. 

We praised God for this sweet life.  And then came…

Are you weary? 

Maybe you woke up today and all you felt was heavy. Maybe it showed up in the form of anxiety, or sadness, or anger. Maybe you don’t even have a word for it, but it sits on…

If my mother had been a firework, she would have been a roman candle–bright, explosive, with sudden bursts of color and energy, followed by a quick dive into quiet, leaving only echoes of her energy behind.

“The extent to which you repent is the extent to which you will survive.”

I heard these words on February 10, 2022. The night before, I’d learned of a betrayal that completely blindsided me, that I knew was going to…

“I’m so sorry for your loss.” 

I’ve uttered those words countless times. To my best friend after his father took his own life. To a few moms and dads after their loss of a child. To a teammate of my…

I had arranged a special weekend to take my kids and nephew to visit my parents, giving my wife a peaceful weekend alone. I remember that day vividly. Everything fell into place—the timing, the kids being ready, and all the…

 I sit looking out the picture window at the waves crashing in. The waves are relentless. They keep rolling in as they crash upon the shore and seem to take half of the beach with them as they recede back…

When I was in college, my brother-in-law introduced me to a product called Rain-X. It was great for those long drives to school, which sometimes included rainstorms. You just wipe it on your windshield, and it creates an invisible layer…