The story of Mary Magdalene is mentioned in all four of the New Testament gospels. This fact alone makes Mary Magdalene quite extraordinary. Watching the series, The Chosen, as part of a special program for my church, I was captivated by the story of Mary Magdalene. In the first episode, you are brought into the…

I’ve never liked the age-old saying “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” It’s catchy to say, but that doesn’t mean it’s true. In fact, throughout the course of my relational history, I would dare say this saying is missing an opportunity when rifts occur between two imperfect people.…

“Coping” is effectively handling difficulties and disruptions in your life to reduce unpleasant emotions. Strategies to cope with change are beneficial, but most of us aren’t particularly enthusiastic about learning how to cope with change. Some people appreciate and even embrace change, so how to cope with change is more comfortable, but most of us…

Since childhood, I’ve attempted New Year’s resolutions, not spiritual resolutions just self-improvement promises to myself. Resolutions are great, but unfortunately, I don’t think most of my resolutions survived through January. Some of my New Year’s resolutions included: stop biting my nails, stop chewing gum, don’t hang out with certain people, find good friends, read more,…

Loneliness is feeling empty, alone, and just sad. Not physically alone which at times is healthy, vital, and invigorating but a deep sense of feeling unwanted, forgotten, and invisible. Learning how to deal with loneliness reminds me of riding a Ferris Wheel. One moment you are enjoying the view and suddenly the ride stops and…

As a child attending church, our pastor would occasionally invite a group of us to sing on stage. I loved being selected and clearly remember singing, “I’ll fly away, oh glory” with my three friends while sensing the presence of God. In my mind, our performance was spectacular even though none of us were accomplished…

How to be confident without being arrogant? What’s the trick to being self-assured yet humble? How do we squash insecurities and yet not present ourselves as arrogant? Is there a scale that tips when our pride turns excessive, warning us to settle down? Is it even humanly possible to be confident and not overconfident simultaneously?…

 When you surrender to God, you give up control and yield to Him. Easy enough…no, not at all! Learning how to surrender to God is one of the hardest but most important things in your faith journey. Surrendering to anyone or anything feels counterintuitive and unnatural. Many see surrender as weak, a sign of defeat,…

It was the fall of 2018. An excited newly certified nurse practitioner, I finally completed my post-master program, the culmination of a dream many years in the making. I was thankful to be done with school and ready to start my life’s next assignment. In fact, several years prior God had told me exactly where…

Managing emotions can be tricky, exhausting, and a huge distraction. At times managing emotions seems similar to managing a pesky fly swarming around your head. You grow weary of managing emotions and getting them under control, so your feelings begin to accumulate like a layer of dust on your spirit. And then one day you…