Formed

Agreements and Vows

Lately I’ve been reading through John Eldredge’s Restoration Year devotional. I had saved it for a whole year and a half. I did want to get through my other morning readings first before I started this one. But it was almost as if I sensed I wasn’t ready for restoration. Or maybe I was thinking it might be too much work. But as I’ve gone through each day, I’ve realized I started it in just the right year.

This year has required us to sequester in our homes due to Covid-19. It’s given me time to reflect, to pray deeply, to journal more. Of course, I have to choose that over binge-watching Little Fires Everywhere, or Dead to Me. But when I have made the choice,

Hope & Healing

Is Self-Care Selfish?

I burrowed into the far corner of the white leather couch, clutching the silky, floral pillow like a life preserver. I looked up; my gaze floated away into the painting pinned to the wall behind her. Maybe I was hoping to drift away from this ceaseless cyclone of frustration, exhaustion, anxiety, and depression. Seated across from me, my counselor gently began to navigate into the depths of my unsettling emotions and thoughts.

Formed

The Hunter & The Beast

Our safari was a dream-come-true-ending to our time in South Sudan. I was directing a short documentary for Water is Basic about a twelve-year-old girl, Jina, who walked six miles a day to collect enough water to keep her family alive. After two intense weeks of shooting footage with my small team in a remote Sudanese village, we were ready for an adventure. Every day we took in nature’s masterpiece. Breakfast on the plains in the cool of the morning as migrating herds passed without a care or sitting silently in stopped vehicles during the dead of night observing two dozen elephants crossing in front of us with nary a peep was magnificent. My favorite experience was the lion hunt.

Sitting in the dusty truck on the Maasai Mara in Kenya, I watched a mother lion stalk and capture a baby warthog with surprising stealth and speed. Picking up the flailing, screeching piglet in her jaws, she violently shook it until it lay limp. I thought she had shaken it dead.

Formed

Journey to Recovery

God brought me to Recovery at IBC on April 22, 2010 with the hope that this would be the place that would help my family to heal our brokenness and fix the broken thinking of my husband. I was honestly not ready to really look at myself, but Jesus knew this ministry would shed light on my own issues, even if I did not think I was the issue. I came to Recovery with him to make sure he came and participated in this program, yet I stayed for me.

Formed

Kingdom Minded

In times such as these, you don’t have to work very hard to find negativity. Just log on to Twitter or look at your not-so-friendly neighborhood Facebook page. Among all of the “what kind of snake is this” posts, and the “what should we pick up for dinner” posts, there are many comments from people complaining about community members, stating their political opinions, and flat out roasting other people for their opinions, thoughts, or behavior. Seriously, if I see one more “how dare you do that in this time” or “COVID is a hoax and this is dumb” post, I may very well lose my mind. How are we as Christians supposed to respond in hard times? Or more specifically, how do we remain focused on the kingdom of God in hard times?

Hope & Healing

My Journey of Grief

On the evening of December 7, 2006, I embarked on a long and hard journey that I never wanted. The journey of widowhood. Little did I know that while attending an event at IBC, my beloved husband Joe, my soul mate and best friend of 35 years, was entering the gates of Heaven and into the arms of His Savior.

During this season of grief, God whispered to my heart several times: “absent from the body, present with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8)