A year ago on my first mission trip to Alaska, I led a little girl named Jennifer to Christ. This summer I served on the other side of the city, where Jennifer had happened to move after I left last year, and she found me. Though she seemed solid in her faith, she had a vexing question common among even more
Finding God: A Free Book from Bible Sprout
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. – 1 Peter 3:15
When I was growing up in the Midwest, we had ethnic pockets of Italians, Irish (my people), Germans, Hungarians, Poles, Brits, Russians and the like. It was easy to communicate with the people in your community because (more…)
The Importance of Purity: A Second Message to Young Women
Some of the worst decisions I’ve seen young women make (or women of any age, for that matter) involve men. That’s because so many of us find our worth in men. We find our validation in men. We seek our fulfillment in men.
My sweet young friends, you are worth so much more than that. You are indescribably precious in the sight (more…)
Don’t Go Breaking Their Hearts: A Message to Young Women
As a young woman, I transitioned from awkward and geeky to what some men considered attractive without noticing the transition myself. Ungrounded in my faith and uninstructed about my conduct, I naively pursued friendships with men without a second thought about whether those men could have had feelings for me. It took advice from a man to open my eyes to (more…)
Prayer and Anointing: Bringing My Chronic Insomnia to Christ
Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.—James 5:14
A pastor ushered me into a conference room where I found a group of faithful men huddled in prayer. The Holy Spirit had a palpable presence in that room (more…)