Upcoming Changes + A Giveaway

I received a notification from WordPress the other day congratulating me on the four years I’ve been blogging—that’s a long time! It’s been a beautiful journey of self-discovery, cultivating a deeper understanding of who God is, and connecting with my readers. The Narrow Road for Teens has been a huge blessing in my life (and hopefully yours as well) and has provided me with opportunities that I never imagined possible.

Recasting Self-Love

Self-love. 

These are two words that many of us do not feel for ourselves–and if we do–we are sometimes told that we simply love ourselves too much. 

How can we love ourselves too much when the suicide rate among young people has skyrocketed in recent years? How can we love ourselves too much when children in elementary school are developing eating disorders? How can we love ourselves too much when we can’t stand to look in the mirror? 

When Dreams Come True

I had a dream

I got everything I wanted

Not what you’d think

And if I’m bein’ honest

It might’ve been a nightmare

To anyone who might care. 

everything i wanted – Billie Eilish 

We all want to be happy. You know it in your heart and research confirms it too. 

Several years go, Harvard psychology professor Daniel Gilbert wrote a fascinating book called Stumbling on Happiness. His premise is, “…people want to be happy, and all other things they want are meant to be a means to that end.”

19 Things 2019 Taught Me

With the dawn of a new year, I thought it would be fun to reflect on what 2019 has taught me.

Christmas – A Celebration of the Unexpected

Fantasies are dangerous things, especially during the Christmas season. I’m not talking about Narnia type fantasies, rather, I’m talking about the kind of fantasies, desires, and expectations we construct in our heads about what we want during Christmas. If people, events, or circumstances don’t meet our expectations, we are left reeling with feelings of let-down, depression, or at times, even anger.

To the Hurting This Christmas

 

The woman’s hands shook gently as she hung the last ornament on the tree, eyes shining with unshed tears as she gently traced the face of her deceased husband through the glass of the ornament.

Just down the street stood a father outside his son’s bedroom door, begging him to let him in so he can keep him from hurting himself again. 

On the other side of town, there is a teenager staring at herself in the mirror with self-contempt, wondering how she’ll make it through another day. 

Choosing Thanksgiving–No Matter the Circumstance

He knew the next footsteps in the corridor might be those of the guards taking him away to his execution. His only bed was the hard, cold stone floor of the dank, cramped prison cell. Not an hour passed when he was free from the constant irritation of the chains and the pain of the iron manacles cutting into his wrists and legs.

Love Fails But God Does Not

“Love never fails…” 

When I was younger, I found great hope in this verse. Love never fails. It sounds good, doesn’t it? A love that never failed to show up, to give me what I needed, and that never let me down. As I got older and I watched relationships fall apart, I began to question this love. If love never fails, then how could this be? 

4 Methods of Self-Reflection and How It Will Deepen Your Walk With Christ

When times are difficult, it’s easy to lose focus and get distracted. 

Just like the disciples tossed back and forth in the waves as noted in Matthew 14:24, we often fear disaster. We often forget how to row, we panic, we fear the trajectory of our ship, and we fail to look to the One whose word can calm the raging sea. 

The storms that life throw our way can consume us in its dizzying force and cause us to lose sight of the state of our heart, the words that we speak, the thoughts of our mind, and the state of our spiritual health. We become so consumed with simply surviving, we forget what’s important to God. Then, before we know it, we are in need of some serious soul-searching and time for inward reflection.   

3 Things God Taught Me While on A Blogging Hiatus

 

It’s hard to believe that a month has passed since I first announced that I was going to take a blogging hiatus for the duration of September. So many things were going on in my life. I just needed the time to focus on the present and not stress about delivering quality content.