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Following Jesus Through The Storms He will lead you safely home We were in the midst of a winter storm in the Midwest, and I had to drive back from Chicago to my home. It's usually about a 2-hour drive if traffic is good. This day was another story. I started home at around 4:30 and was in rush hour traffic, so I decided to stop and eat dinner. I got back on the road at around 6:00 p.m., 90 miles from home, and snow began to fall. Read on... The Flood Finding hope in the storm Unrelenting and merciless rain pounded around me. I was driving on New Year's Eve, everything I owned piled into my car. I was trying to escape south Louisiana and head north. Hope for a new beginning. Water covered every road I turned on. I was running out of time. It would be dark soon. Desperate, I tried for a shortcut. Read on... I Love Softball Listen and learn from your Coach I love softball. I used to play when I was younger, but now I just like to watch it any chance I get. Recently, the 14-and-under, fast pitch, girl's softball championship was held in my town. One hundred and twenty teams from across the United States descended on our small town to fight it out over a week's time. So, I spent a lot of time out at the softball complex that week. Read on... Birthday Blues Learning to serve in the hard times February 24, 2005, I turned 20. 20 years ago that day I came into the world crying, kicking, and screaming. It was February 24th of 2005 that I found myself in the same patterns as birth. Read on... Unsafe Christianity Not for the faint of heart As a Christian nation, we've forgotten some key things. We choose to ignore the less "nice" parts of Jesus. We'd like to think of Jesus as something warm and fuzzy and safe. In Talladega Nights, Will Farrell's character keeps praying to "Dear, Sweet Baby Jesus" because "that's the 'Jesus' he likes best." Read on... Dogsitting A lesson on grace I used to hate dogs and was scared to death of them. In fact, I once cried when a dachshund barked at me while I was riding my bike (I was 15 years old). So I don't know what possessed me to agree to dogsit for people the entire summer. Read on... The Year Of ... Old Year's Revelations I used to be big on New Year's resolutions. I love the idea of setting goals for myself and trying to keep them until at least February! Read on... Shoes Learning to laugh in the midst of sorrow During the memorial service honoring my brother's life, I looked down and noticed something odd. I was wearing two different shoes. I nearly burst out laughing amid the respectful silence and quiet sobs, not because I didn't care that my brother was gone, or even because I'd accidentally packed two different shoes. Read on... Silence Will Kill Finding freedom for victims of abuse I live a life accompanied by a silent scream that keeps me up at night ... a scream that haunts every step I take, every relationship I attempt to make. Louder, louder, louder — can you hear it? Read on... Magi Worship And they bowed down and worshipped him The story of the Magi, or wise men, is told in the book of Matthew. They followed a star to the Christ child and presented him with gifts. I've heard the story a million times. But the thing I noticed this time was their attitude of worship. Yes, they brought gifts. Yes, they bowed down. Yes, they worshipped. But let me help you see what God showed me. Read on... Referencing Jesus Boldness in following Christ I clearly remember the propaganda posters of my childhood library. They would often employ the image of a girl, face drawn with excitement and disbelief, expressing her attempt to comprehend the galactic biome ballooning from the pages of her open book. Read on... Do You Think You Need A Filter? More than words I used to think I needed a filter. When I would say something really stupid, sinful, hateful, ridiculous (you get the picture) I thought, "I really should have filtered that!" Read on... Selah Hearing God speak in the silence This is what I know: the flight was smooth, the view amazing — bright blue so vast no one could tell the difference between the sky and ocean. The sun still sparkled playfully across the Pacific waves. It was January, but it wasn't cold. Suddenly, an alarm goes off. A may-day call. Then, silence. Read on... The Harvest The fields are ready, but the laborers are few Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. The leaves begin to change, the weather becomes cooler, and football season starts. It's also the time when farmers start bringing in the crops. Here in Illinois, those crops are corn and soybeans. Read on... Eyes In The Storm Struggling with God You're out for a walk and all of a sudden it starts pouring down rain, and you see a big streak of lightning followed by the loudest bang of thunder you've ever heard. This was not supposed to happen. It was not in the forecast. Well, you're caught in a storm. What do you do? Read on... I Hate Change Honoring God where you are Most people seem to hate change. I am one of them. There's something in me that rebels when things depart from the way they were, the way I loved it. As far as I can see, there's nothing wrong with hating change. Read on... Mexico Searching for hope The trek across thousands of miles to Mexico was, for me, a quest for hope. In the semester leading up to the trip, I felt too many things crumble beneath me. I saw dreams shatter. A mother with cancer. A faith-wavering father. Love lost. Future dreams altered with God's new plan and new path presented before me. So maybe I went to Mexico seeking hope that I could forget all the things I couldn't leave behind. Read on... Reality Every After (Part 3) Advice on getting married In the past couple of months, I've given you my quick bullet points of "big sister advice on getting married." In August, I pointed out that it is not your husband's job to make you happy, and in September I espoused the idea that character attracts character. In this article, I want to address my last piece of advice for this trilogy, and I find that it is really more of a question: Can you encourage and help your husband until death? You are right to give pause here ... Read on... Grief A taste of Christ's suffering In a state of grief, do you choose to deny the reality of the situation, or do you face it head on, like a bull running for a red cape? I like to think that I face it head on, come face-to-face with the grim and ugly truth of the fallen world that we've inherited: that through man's sin, this tragedy of mine has happened. But I feel that I am weak, in a state of denial, in fact. Read on... "Gay" Brother Tells Homophobic Sister He's Gay: A Story of God's Grace "Please don't think I'm disgusting. Please don't hate me ... I'm gay." These were the words my younger brother said to me between sobs on the phone one night, just a little over a year ago. Consequently, these were also the words that changed my life. I remember the wave of shock, disbelief, and even grief that swept over me as I waited to hear what words would come tumbling over my numb lips. In a moment like that, when time suddenly stops and a number of questions and doubts whirl around inside of you, God speaks. Here's what came out of my mouth, by the grace of God ... "I love you." Read on... I Want To Be A Pickle Who or what defines you? At the age of three, I had life all figured out. Yes, I realize it may seem hard to believe, but my destiny was set. I knew exactly what I wanted to be "when I grew up," and I was ready to share it with the world ... or at least with my mom and my brother while we were driving down the road. Read on... Reality Every After (Part 2) Advice on getting married Last month, I wrote to you with my first piece of advice on getting married. I have received some great feedback since then and I appreciate the e-mails and curiosity you've shown. This month, I'm giving you my second piece of advice, and it is this ... (drum roll please): character attracts character. Read on... What Does The Media Say About Sex? The influence is more powerful than you think People often underestimate the power of music and its influence over our thoughts and actions. When speaking to students about the media, I often hear them say, "Music doesn't affect me. I just listen to the beat." So I typically retort back, "But does the music that you listen to inspire you to become a better, more loving, kind, intelligent, honest, self-controlled, well-spoken, patient, responsible and respectful person? Or does it inspire ideas that are the opposite of these noble traits, such as rebellion, vulgarity, irresponsibility, anger, violence, disrespect and lack of self-control?" Read on... Pruning Or Punishing? Discerning God's purpose for my pain My husband and I had two beautiful, healthy children and desired to have another child. As we sought God's will, we believed this was His desire for us as well. However, after a whole year of trying to get pregnant, there were still no results. This was a very difficult season of life for me, and I continually questioned why God was withholding this blessing. Read on... Reality Every After (Part 1) Advice on getting married Okay, okay. I get it. You are a person who thinks pretty regularly about the idea of getting married someday (or perhaps is already engaged to be married). You don't mean to be "one of those women who is obsessed with getting married", but the thought crosses your mind from time to time and you wonder. Read on... The "Except For" Category God calls for obedience in every area of your life I have discovered there are "Except For" categories in my life. There have been times in my life where I have said 'I know scripture is the authority in my life ... I will obey it ... EXCEPT FOR (fill in the blank).' And at that point I tell God to be silent and forfeit His blessing. Read on... Woman's Best Friend Passing on God's comfort I had just taken our yellow lab Tucker to the vet for a regular check-up, and at eleven years old he was still in very good health. Over the next couple of weeks, however, he began to quickly decline, becoming lethargic and not eating well. By the end of three weeks, he was looking very thin and could hardly get up. I actually had to pick him up and carry him into the vet. Read on... A Broken Scale And A Revelation Are idols weighing you down? How many times must my bathroom scale break before I get it? Evidently three times. I've had three scales break in a relatively short amount of time. The Holy Spirit is consistent, and I'm slow. Last semester, He spoke clearly to me through my broken scale. I finally listened. I don't need to weigh myself on a consistent basis. My weight can be an idol for me. Don't you love putting your junk out on the internet for the world to read? Read on... Waiting For "That Moment" To Happen And so, I press on Do you ever wait for that moment to happen? That moment where it all makes sense? That moment where life comes to a standstill, the movie wraps up, all is forgiven, all lessons are learned? That moment where you, the afflicted one, are justified in your struggles and are now ready to take it all on, 100% fulfilled, knowledgeable, wise and perfect? Read on... Defining Beauty Whose standard do I try to live up to? Flip through the most recent Cosmo magazine and you're likely to find pictures of skin bearing women, thin bodies, perfect breasts, and beautiful faces. They all have long slender legs and the look on their faces screams sex. Being a woman, it's hard not to compare yourself to these flawless images. We want to torture our bodies to look as thin as them. Read on... My new friend, Respect. Finding balance in a diet-obsessed culture Summer is a time when I re-evaluate my health. It's beautiful outside, so exercise is without excuse, and there are farmers markets bursting with colorful goodness for our kitchen. But as ideal as that sounds, I still struggle with figuring out what to do (and not do) to keep myself healthy in this "Are you bikini ready?" obsessed culture. Read on... Secret Message Why pray to a God who knows everything? Yesterday my five year old little girl, Carrie, was sitting at the table coloring with some crayons. She looked up at me and asked, "Mommy, how do you spell, 'I am going to hug you'?" Read on... Swimming Up Stream The "Safe Sex" Myth "Free condoms, free pizza" was the chant echoed through the hallway as I walked into a dorm at a local university. I was there to speak on the topic of STDs, but it was at that moment that I realized I really had no idea what I was up against. Read on... Marinating The process of becoming like Christ And thus the Lord spoketh to the weeping Audra, and said "Hey ... chill, lady. You're marinating." Marination, also known as marinating, is the process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic liquid before cooking. It is commonly used to flavor foods and to tenderize tougher cuts of meat ... The process may last seconds or days. (wikipedia.org) Read on... Fig Newtons & Safe Havens Bringing peace to a stressed out world Grocery stores across America consider Fig Newtons to be "cookies." I know this because despite my objections as to their "cookie" appeal, you can only find Fig Newtons in the cookie aisle of any grocery store. They are always there ... packaged as to not necessarily draw your attention and priced so affordably you almost miss them. I don't know many people who are into eating Fig Newtons, but seeing a package of them brings back such fond memories of my childhood that it makes me want to buy every package I can get my hands on. You see, my grandmother first introduced me to the "safe haven" of a Fig Newton. Read on... "Marked for Life"...Indeed Finding healing after facing tragedy Several months ago, my husband and I had the unique opportunity to host in our home the touring band, Casting Pearls, and a Columbine tragedy survivor, Crystal Woodman Miller. Crystal was traveling with Casting Pearls to give her testimony to various audiences across our nation at the time. Over chips and queso, she shared with us her story and gave us a copy of her book, "Marked for Life." I was awestruck by how she had processed the tragedy she experienced. She was very open and real about how hard it had been to deal with what had happened. Read on... To Seek Or Not To Seek First seek the counsel of the Lord. (1 Kings 22:5) Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers, they succeed. (Proverbs 15:22) Verses like this encourage us to seek the counsel of others when making plans in our lives. However, in my own life, there have been a few occasions when I felt like wise counsel confused the issue and did not line up with what I believed God was leading me to do. Read on... Pitching Tents This earth is not our home In the last thirteen years, my husband and I have lived in nine different homes in three different states. The more we've moved, the more I've learned to hold on loosely to the things of this earth. This last move in particular, I identified more with the reality that we are just "aliens and strangers" in this world (1 Peter 2:11). Our "homes" here are temporary dwellings, tents that we pitch along this journey on our way to our permanent, eternal home. Read on... Who Am I? Overcoming an identity crisis I was born small (5lbs.4oz) and stayed that way. At age 23, I still get confused with middle schoolers. I'm obsessed with exercising, mostly because I want to stay small. You see, I have an identity – people consistently tell me I'm the smallest person they know. Read on... Forgiveness Takes Time And Healing is Possible I hear people speak of forgiveness all the time and how it's so difficult to forgive. They talk about how they could never forgive someone for this or that, or simply that they've tried time and time again to forgive a certain something, but just can't let it go. But how can we expect to be forgiven if we don't offer it ourselves? When we're hurt, it takes time to be able to offer the gift of forgiveness, to wish that person well, but we must do so. Read on... The Good, The Bad, And The Truth Of The Matter Cancer One small word brings so many thoughts, fears, and uncertainties. Even though my husband and I had grandparents who had dealt with it, cancer was never something we expected to face — at least not while we were in our 20s. Life took a very unexpected turn, though, and I found myself in a hospital waiting room listening to a doctor report to me on my husband's emergency surgery. Read on... Passion '07 Getting to know you ... The last MANY January Firsts have been ... um ..."medium." In fact, I can't actually remember a really phenomenal New Year's Day. New Year's Eve is a great time, but New Year's Day has pretty much just amounted to a lot of sleep ... maybe some snow. So, needless to say, I was really looking forward to starting this year as a volunteer at Passion '07. I was excited to actually get to "meet you" (or at least your contemporaries) to see if you matched the impression I had of you. Read on... Back On The Spinning Wheel Perfecting Our Imperfections Why is it that as Christians, we tend to have such a hard time getting back up when we fall? We think we've fallen so far that there's no way we can get back up. I mean, of course we "know" that God can forgive us and we "know" that He will, or at least we've been told that. But do we really believe it? Read on... Blue Icing Is Better Making choices based on God's wisdom Forrest Gump said that "life is like a box of chocolates." I know there's a deep analogy to be drawn from this statement, but I can't help thinking if life were a "box of cupcakes covered in blue icing," how truly awesome that would be. The "awesome" part being, for me, the blue icing. Read on... Snow Day Feeling the warmth of our Father's embrace Snow day on Friday. The snow fresh on the ground, the ice on the trees as the sun glistens down on them. I'm partial to fall, but this time of year is beautiful as well. I love snowy nights and seeing how beautiful the moon looks on the trees. Last night I was reminded of a time I feel like I should share. Read on... You Again The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. (Romans 7) At my core, I believe that redemption and renewal are possible ... for others and for myself. Very often, though, they don't really FEEL possible. Recently I've been visited by an old sin, one that I thought I had kicked, to be honest. When I first started sensing the comfortable tug of its appeal I shrugged it off (after all, my particular "sin of choice" isn't inherently bad), but in short order the tug grew more insistent, and I was intrigued ... drawn in. Read on... Playing Favorites There are no levels in Christianity To me a revelation is not only a way in which God reveals Himself to us in a distinctive way, but it's probably the way in which I feel closest to Him. It's as if He and I are sitting at a small, round, wooden table with one of those plastic vases in the middle that has all of those fake flowers poking out of it, drinking water with lemon and discussing Christianity and myself and how the two correspond. As Donald Miller puts it, it's as if we're "talking on the phone" or something — like we're that close, breathing the same air. Read on... The Utility Of Art After silence, that which comes closest to expressing the inexpressible is music. -Aldous Huxley I often wrestle with the practicality of music — specifically, the utility of songwriting. A song never washed the dishes. A lyric never tied my shoes. A melody never paid the bills (for me, anyway). What is it about music that keeps drawing me to ponder, pray, dream, and write? Read on... Locks Of Love God can turn any obstacle into an opportunity to show His love I've heard of phantom limbs before. After giving at least ten inches of my hair away (I wouldn't let the stylist tell me exactly how much she cut off), I had phantom hair for days. Read on... Seasons Of Change God can turn any obstacle into an opportunity to show His love It seems there's something special and unique about each season of the year, but fall has to be my favorite. I find it odd that I love this season so much, because it's so full of change, and I will be the first to admit that change is not something I'm too crazy about. Read on... Electricity Can't live without it, can't live ... without it! The problem with getting used to something — to anything in life — is that we forget that it's there. Then, when it's gone, we're surprised. A few months ago my city was hit with a major storm, knocking out power to over 500,000 people. We, as luck would have it, were among those suddenly without power, and I had a very rude awakening: I like electricity. Read on... Holiday Expectations Clear communication is essential in relationships Holidays have always been a big deal in my family. We celebrate everything. Sure, most people do things for Christmas and birthdays, but we're different. Easter, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving — they're all a reason to celebrate, and let's be honest, to give gifts. This is the way I grew up. Read on... I Am Not A Victim Healing is a process, but with God's help it's possible For a long time I was filled with resentment and self pity. I told myself that no one knew what it was like to live my life — no one would ever understand how hard I had it. One day I realized that I'd become bitter and lonely, hidden behind walls and walls of fear. Let me tell you how it all started... Read on... Refined By Fire God brings beauty from the pain God works on me through heartbreak. When my heart is broken (or what we call "the grieving process"), I am left exposed. No shield, no fence, no crap. It's just me — my true self before God. I hate feeling sick with grief, but I find real comfort with God who knows and loves me. In this time, I search Him for some kind of purpose for the pain, and I find it in a fire. Read on... Faux Pas Don't live to make a good impression on others (Philippians 2:3) I was reading an interesting post by my friend Nikki on the blog about a sorority that requires its girls to wear thongs in order to safely avoid the fashion faux pas of visible panty lines. This bugged me for several reasons, but I'm trying to sort through them to the root of it. I would like to make a public announcement that I wear underwear, and if you see my panty lines, I'm ever so sorry. But my secret is out. I will wear a thong when absolutely necessary, but a few hours into it, I'm down-right unpleasant to be around. They make me grumpy. (That little tid-bit about myself was free ... totally unrelated.) Read on... Given Much From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded (Luke 12:48) I've been thinking about writing this article for quite some time, and like many other things in my life, it was almost doomed to stay contained in my head. I'm sure you can relate. You get a good idea, but don't always have the time or resources to make it happen. Well, this article is about how each of us could make a positive impact on this world if we each made one thing "happen." Read on... Flushing The Garbage Lessons from a toilet bowl I'm very interested in controlling the impression you have of me. I like to believe that I can use flowery words and dynamic imagery so that you'll think I'm brilliant and witty and that we could be friends because you're quite brilliant and hilarious as well. Unfortunately, this particular story will do nothing for the cool, "friend-worthy" impression I'm trying to convey. Read on... Potluck, No Luck Dealing with the not-so-great roommate The temperature on the day I moved into college was approximately equal to the surface of the sun. To add insult to injury, the elevator to my non-air-conditioned, ninth floor dorm room was in no condition to accommodate the stuff of 500 women with a six-hour window of move-in time. One trip up nine flights of stairs shy of a heart attack, my parents dropped off my last load, said goodbye, and left me. Read on... Struggles The battle to overcome secret sins was not meant to be fought alone Struggles, temptations, strongholds, secret sins...whatever you call them, we all have them. Whether you're a college student, mother, or minister, you know the reality of those things that you just can't shake. But God forgives and provides a way for us to overcome those struggles in our lives that we don't want anyone else to know about. Read on... Honest Conversations Praying with the faith of a child I teach a group of third grade girls once a month at church. They are big fans of crafts, ho-hum about games, and often not so keen about looking up their Bible verses. But they are always eager to pray. Read on... Skin Why do we ignore the truth in pursuit of temporary satisfaction? Sunscreen...it's not just an afterthought. Well it totally was an afterthought, but it won't be ever, EVER again. As I sit here tending to my charred skin after a little event I like to call Sunapalooza 2006, I think it's safe to say I didn't use enough sunscreen. I dread what might have become of my epidermis if I had skipped sunscreen altogether. Read on... Beachfront Solitude Summertime is the right time to soak your feet in sand and surf. A couple of summers ago two friends and I took a vacation to a secluded island off the Gulf coast. Our days were simple: watch the waves roll in, walk on the beach, sit in the sun and listen to the seagulls. At night we gazed at the countless stars and listened to waves crashing on the shore. Our beach house was modest and void of luxuries; its charm was found solely in its location. Read on... Fight Like A Man The Rose Bowl reminds us that men worth waiting for are men with guts. Maybe my attempts to help the guys in my life have been a bit misdirected, maybe I shouldn't make them at all, and maybe I should pay more attention to my own faults instead of harping on guys so much. The other night, though, I saw a glimpse of masculinity that was so beautiful that I have to talk about it. Read on... At Home in a Crowd Passion '06 reminds us that we're never alone when we pursue God's presence It's easy to feel alone in this world and wonder if you exist to anyone but yourself. I've felt alone in crowds and while sitting with another person over a cup of coffee. Our tech-savvy society has perpetuated loneliness by ridding us of the need for face-to-face contact in order to communicate. Read on... Merry Christmas from Lily7! Experience a Peace-Filled Holiday Let's face it: Christmas should be a time of peace and celebration, but often it's a little stressful with finals, traveling home and venturing out to the mall for that last minute Christmas gift. This year we at Lily7 want to encourage you to fully embrace all the fun and joy of the Christmas season. We pray your Christmas is filled with good friends, loving family and peaceful celebrations...and a few of our suggestions for a great holiday season. Read on... Indescribable Passion Experiencing a Taste of God's Goodness at Passion '05 I racked my brain for days trying to find a word that would sum up Passion '05 and what it meant in my life. "Indescribable" is not a very descriptive word I'll admit, but how do you put into words what one of my friends called "four days of heaven"? Read on... Back To School Remember — you're a scholar for life. Let's face it: learning never stops — it's a life long process. Whether your figuring out how to add a new play list to your iPod or grappling with a deeper understanding of what it means to walk in grace and truth, you always have another opportunity to learn. Read on... The Beautiful Truth Outside appearance isn't what truly matters. It's the beauty of the heart that endures. I put on make-up, buy clothes and follow the fashion trends to define who I am — and to cover up all the hurt, pain and insecurities. I want to be beautiful and to make everyone around me see that I am beautiful — and worthy. Read on... Mirror Image Who do you see looking back? Every day, it seems, I find myself more disturbed by her image, yet more needy toward its presence. My voice wants to shout, as if to wake, or distract the blurred gaze, but more often it finds an urge to whisper or calm its clouded mirage. Read on... It's a Long Way Home Songwriter Ginny Owens takes another step in her soul-baring journey. I'm never going to be completely comfortable in my own skin. I'm never going to be completely comfortable as an artist. And that's OK. I think I'm finding comfort in the fact that I'm always going to be slightly uncomfortable. Read on... Wanted: Husband at Home? Sometimes our "wants" in life turn out to be a deeper longing for Christ. If I wanted a husband because I believed marriage would give me a feeling of home, then where was this need for a home originating? Did I not feel "at home" with my family or with my friends and roommates at school? Was this some weird biological clock ticking prematurely? Read on...