It’s that time of year again. The spring pollen has covered everything in sight, bees are humming about, and the sun is burning my sweater-free arms as I sit outside with my child. I’m holding a giant book, and we are cramming for end-of-year testing....
“If others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more! … but now I consider [my efforts] worthless because of what Christ has done.” Philippians 3:4,7...
As a child, the first songs that I remember singing at church are “Jesus Loves Me” and “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” Each week in Sunday School, we would stand in a straight line and sing those two songs. Then the teacher would remind us...
When I was growing up I was afraid of everything. If I stubbed my toe on the coffee table, I thought I’d get a blood clot which would undoubtedly kill me. I was afraid I’d get mauled by a bear in the woods, even if...
A few days ago I woke up with the feeling of sheer defeat covering me like an itchy, two-sizes-too-small sweater. It clung to me and whispered lies that I did not have the energy to fight. “You are not helping anyone in your job,” it...
Scott Puckett’s son, Michael, and his then pregnant wife, Emily, came back from their first ultrasound in 2016 with the news that their baby girl had alobar holoprosencephaly (no separation of the cerebral hemispheres of the brain). Doctors told their family that only one in...
There’s a stunning bouquet of spring flowers on my dining room table. It pops with bloom and color, a perfect personification of the vibrant life this season ushers in. But in this moment, even though they’re elegant and sweet and lovely to look at, I...
If you think about it for any considerable length of time, you’re likely to come to the realization that the “American Dream” as it’s been passed down through the generations to us is at odds with God’s purposes for His people. ...
I’m the master of starting something new. Whether work or play, I so often find myself caught up in the challenge of figuring something out. I research, reading everything I can get my hands on—for about two weeks. ...
My story is like many others I know—I was raised in the church. However, growing up outside the “Bible Belt” did allow me more wiggle room than many others I have come to know since moving to the South. ...
Reading Philippians 1:1-11 brings tears to my eyes. Philippians 1:6 reminds me of my grandmother, Mimi. “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”...
I’ve spent time in a handful of countries, and it’s striking to me that, no matter where I am, interactions with people revolve around food. It doesn’t seem to matter how much or little a person has; when they want to demonstrate how welcome you...
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of hospitality is from my growing up years, when my mom would announce, “Company’s coming! Time to clean the house!”. We would then slave all day making the house look like no one lived in...
Have you ever listened to a song thousands of times and never really tuned in, but in a particular season listened to the same song and saw it as fresh revelation? Well, during this past Christmas season, that exact thing happened to me....
There is no question that Jesus calls us, as His followers, to serve others sacrificially and to make disciples. How obedient are we to that call? We choose to “engage” in many things— hobbies, relationships, exercise, getting ahead at work, our comfort or leisure. Are...
New Year's may be one of my favorite holidays, but this year I feel like I tripped and face-planted into 2018....
Does my life have an eternal purpose? How am I being used as a tool for God’s Kingdom work? Have you ever asked yourself these questions? You’re not alone....
I'm a walking PR firm. It would almost be laughable were it not so real—and as someone who works in marketing for a living, I am painfully aware of how this whole thing works....
In Exodus 33 and 34, Moses wants to know God more; He wants more of God’s presence. He experiences the unimaginable blessing of meeting with God and getting a small glimpse of God’s actual physical presence....
Every moment we are constantly creating systems in our mind that are simultaneously crashing on themselves. These systems are called expectations. They are predictions, assumptions, calculations, and hopes that we believe in—a high risk, high reward, process. The risk is high because we are vulnerable...
One night earlier this fall, I was pulling out of a familiar parking lot on a back street tucked behind an old church. It’s the kind of road that barely sees any traffic and peels off the main road, weaving in between parking lots and...
I take my daily drive into work very seriously. I have a playlist of worship music that I listen to every morning and I make a big deal of queuing the most appropriate songs based on how my heart is feeling. The next 30 minutes...
When I was a little girl, I would put myself in timeout before I got in trouble. Seriously—ask my mom. For me, the fear of getting into trouble was worse than the punishment, so I would preemptively strike and just punish myself if I thought...
When I first applied for Kairos in February of 2017, I could never have envisioned how the trajectory of my life would be altered. In addition, as someone who had limited exposure to Grace Church prior to this summer, I had no backdrop or context...
The sin of idolatry. Sin. Such a hard line. But what is idolatry anyway? The worship of golden calves and statues, right? My life is totally free of animal worship, and gold worship, and lust for shiny things, and status, and self-honor, — wait....