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woman sitting alone

An Open Letter To Those Who Lost Someone to COVID

Culture

“Why did he have to die, Mom?” my 8-year-old daughter Selah asked me, her green eyes full of tears.

“I don’t know,” I whisper. And I hug her. I hold her and think about Harold, my father-in-law we lost unexpectedly last year. As I hold her, I look up and see the giant life-sized picture she drew of him taped to her wall, and the banner that says, “Grandpa” hanging above her window, and the tears roll down my cheeks and into her blonde hair. I don’t know how to explain to her why her vibrant, funny, joyful Grandpa died.

woman on mountain

5 Things I Learned From A Summer Off Social Media

Growing in God· Soul Care

Many nights, I would go to bed by the electric glow of my screen, keeping me from rest. And even when I shut off my screen, I couldn’t shut off my mind; I would lay in bed and all the news and opinions would rattle around in my soul. Sometimes, it made my heart feel anxious, like a tight a fist. Other times I felt a sense of panic. Panic over the state of the world. And sometimes, I would just feel angry. “How could they say that? How could they think that?” The world felt dark and chaotic. And I was drinking it in, cup after cup, right before bed. It was no way to “rest.” I needed to come away from there. Here’s how I did it, and what I learned.

on summer soul care and surrendering social media

On Summer Soul Care + Surrendering Social Media

Growing in God· Soul Care

What if there is a beautiful view He wants you to see—but social media is keeping a pair of blurry glasses over your eyes? What if there is something He wants to say—but social media is adding in the clamor of a thousand other voices into your ears, drowning Him out? I’m not promising you that if you surrender social media the rest of this summer it will be an earthquake , or a wind, or a fire, but perhaps, it will simply be His still small voice, whispering, telling you something that no one else can tell you. Because He is God.

woman standing on beach

How To Not Waste Your Summer

Growing in God

Summer is like a wedding. Pedals float through the air. Birds sing. The sticky aroma of peony’s and primroses blooming, giving off their beautiful fragrance. I feel like God is alluring me–to Himself as I walk through my neighborhood and watch the petals dance in the breeze. It’s as if He’s calling out, “Come to Me, Come to Me, Come to Me.”

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