Kati Lynn Davis offers a prayer this week for those women who long to be married, “…that You would draw so near to this daughter of Yours, this little girl at heart who longs to be seen and known by someone who will love her for all that she is and all that she longs to be.” Haga clic abajo para leer en Español.
Something Good for Something Better
When the Word Became Flesh
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1:14
Let me paint a picture for you.
You’re the owner of a huge, thriving business. Before starting this company, you were set financially for the rest of your life — so even though you didn’t need to work, you chose to work because you wanted others to share in the fruits of your endlessly creative mind.
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A Survival Guide for Seasonal Depression
First, I want to start by emphasizing that the following is not a checklist. I know that doing any of these things can feel impossible in the thick of seasonal depression, and the last thing anyone needs is to have shame heaped upon them for not taking better care of themselves.
With that being said, as someone who personally struggles with my mental health this time of year, I often need encouragement to prioritize habits that are good for my body and brain. If these darker, colder days are hard for you as well, I gently encourage you to try checking off one or two of the ideas on this list per day.
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No Fear in Love
The following is a transcript of the testimony I shared before being baptized at Willowdale on December 5, 2021. While some details of my story have changed (ex. at the time of my baptism I was single, and now I’m engaged), the truths I share about God are — and always will be — unchanging.
“Jesus, please come into my heart.” These are the words I remember praying the day I accepted Christ as my Savior.
He’ll Meet You There
When God Gives Us Gifts We Don’t Deserve
This is adapted from something I shared on Instagram a couple of months ago:
If there’s ever been a time I’ve felt less deserving of God’s gifts, it’s now.
I cried three separate times today. Dirty laundry and unanswered texts are piling higher and higher. I’m in a constant state of exhaustion and overwhelm.
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Seven Simple Ways to Connect with God
I tend to have an all-or-nothing mentality when it comes to my goals. If something can’t look exactly the way I think it “should,” I give up on it altogether.
I can’t find a full hour to practice drawing techniques? Then I’ll leave my sketchbook to collect dust for another day.
I can’t do a 45-minute workout including cardio, legs, and core? Then I won’t exercise, period…
In a similar way, I often hold myself to a rigid list of shoulds when it comes to spending time with the Lord. For example:
Can He Really Love Us?
Confession, Community, and Conquerors
I recently had a conversation with someone that grew up in the Catholic church who now attends Willowdale Chapel. He wanted to know how our church does confessions.
“Well…it’s a little different here.” I explained that even though we don’t have a set time and place for confession the way the Catholic church does, we’re encouraged to confess our sins directly to God as well as to close friends. It’s a more “organic” process.
A Prayer for Those Feeling Far from God
Treasure in Jars of Clay
I don’t feel like a new creation.
These days, most days, I feel stuck. Stuck in old ways, old habits, old insecurities, old sins. It’s as though I’m in a swamp, my legs and arms encased in thick sludge, and I can only move forward one inch at a time. Some days it feels like centimeters.
I don’t know if this particular “stuckness” is due to seasonal depression, spiritual warfare, sin nature, or something else entirely, but it’s lasted for several months now and I’m tired. Physically, mentally, emotionally.
As a new year comes speeding towards me like a motorboat…
Giving Thanks When the Gift Hurts
You’re sitting at your designated spot at the dinner table, the NFL theme music playing behind you and a heaping plate of turkey and sweet potatoes in front of you. You bow your head and close your eyes as someone at the head of the table says grace. You open your eyes, and the forkful of stuffing is halfway to your mouth when another family member asks the classic question.
I’m a Lion, Too: The God Who Fights Our Fears
Earlier this year, I wrote a blog post for Willowdale Women called I’ll Go First. This was my first time publicly sharing the story of how God redeemed me from years of sexual sin and shame.
I never planned to share this story. That piece of my life is one I hoped would stay buried in a deep, dark place for a long time, until the day I was buried in a deep, dark place… But then God stepped into my story.
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Brave Like You: A Poem for Creating Scared
The Impact of Words: Part Two
The Impact of Words: Part One
Glory in the Humdrum: A Prayer for the Bored, Weary, or Wilting
Heavenly Father,
You know my heart, so you know I am struggling to find joy in this current season of life. I feel stuck, crawling through this wilderness with no end in sight. I look desperately for meaning and purpose in days that feel long and mundane. I have dreams for my life that seem bigger than the place where I wake up. I wrestle with the disappointment of both what is and what has not yet come.
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In the Meantime
I’m in a season of waiting. I’ve been here for a while. And I’m getting impatient.
Actually, I think I’ve passed impatience. Impatience was a spreadsheet with over one hundred job applications. Impatience was attending my twenty-third wedding without a plus one. Impatience was sobbing to my mom over the phone while sitting in my car in the dark because I was just so tired of the word no.
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I’ll Go First: When Sexual Shame Meets the Love of Jesus
This is a hard blog post for me to write. The hardest, probably.
The words aren’t hard to find. They’ve been locked up inside of me for about twenty years, waiting patiently for this day to come. They’ve made their way out here and there, in one-on-one conversations or with small groups of trusted friends.
But still there are days when it feels much safer to keep those words quiet, stashed under my bed or in the corner of a dark closet where they belong. At least, that’s where he told me they belonged.
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