Our family got into an argument last Christmas Eve. It wasn’t a fight about any kind of significant issue, but we disputed over what movie to watch. Along with checking out the festive lights, a Christmas Eve movie is a tradition, and one that caused quite a bit of tension in the year of 2020….
Author: Katie P.
Finding Joy in the Christmas Commotion
I always sense the impending whirlwind about a week before Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite time of year, but it tends to feel frenzied with the Christmas cards, the meal planning, the gift shopping, the end of the year programs, the grades due, and the list goes on…and on. Without fail, I enter this season with…
Unity in Diversity
My freshman year of high school I went on a mission’s trip to Mexico City. The purpose of our trip was to help build a meeting space for a new church who could not afford to pay for the labor, so our days were filled with making concrete by hand, laying bricks, and preparing meals….
Thanks for Holding
My flight home was cancelled two hours before departure. Longing to be back at home, I called the airline within minutes of receiving the text informing me about the changed flight. “Agent. Agent,” I repeated, simply wanting to talk with a human – anyone who could help me get on the next available flight as…
Four Reasons to Not Join a Bible Study (And Why Every Woman Should Consider It).
In college I was invited to join a Bible study. I had been in discipleship groups in high school but had not yet been a part of a group that was formed for the purpose of studying the Bible together. And to be honest, I had no interest. I was ready with every excuse to…
The Incomprehensible
I’ve always had trouble accepting the realities of life’s mysteries. For example, in Kindergarten I pestered my dad incessantly with this question: why can birds fly, and I can’t? Though I have no recollection of his answers, my guess is he attempted to give some scientific explanation, and when that didn’t work, he likely resorted…
Your Will Be Done
I was texting with a friend recently who was waiting on test results after a scan showed some abnormalities. When I responded, I instinctively texted, “I’m praying that the results come back completely clean, if the Lord wills…” I stared at my unsent text and then…delete, delete, delete, delete. I’m praying that the results come…
The Life-Giving and Life-Restoring Reasons To Say “Yes” Or “No”
My husband traveled to Yemen several years ago. The purpose was to encourage a missionary family who was serving Jesus in this challenging place, but while there, he also had the opportunity to experience the nuances of Middle Eastern culture. On one particular day, he was invited to have a traditional lunch with a Yemenis…
Encouragement For Heavy Hearts
My heart has been heavy lately. Not void of joy, not empty of sweet friends or funny moments, but I’ve felt an underlying heaviness most days. My family was recently hit by the COVID virus, and it has taken a while to start feeling physically strong again. The virus took a toll on my husband…
Battling The Beast Of Envy
I suspect I wasn’t the only one scrolling through social media around Christmas time, viewing the myriad of pictures of kids and grandkids and family photos, many of which were sent electronically this year because #2020. Typically, I enjoy seeing the joy that radiates off the faces of friends and family, but I felt a…