Why Dreams and Why Now?
Dreams have always been part of how God reaches his people, but something about this cultural moment seems to have opened the floodgates. The rising noise of our world — the screens, the speed, the constant pull — leaves little room for a whisper. Yet in the quiet of sleep, when defenses fall away, God still speaks. Not to confuse or obscure, but to draw his children closer, invitation wrapped in mystery.
The Both-And of Self-Kindness: Why Loving Yourself Isn’t Selfish
Self-kindness, for A.C., began not as a trendy practice but as a terrifying assignment: speak to herself with the same gentleness she’d learned to offer everyone else. Slowly, Scripture and therapy together reframed kindness as part of bearing God’s image, not betraying it. Naming old, shaming messages and letting divine compassion seep into those bruised places became less self-indulgence and more quiet agreement with how God already loves her.
Quiet Saints: The Practice of Living Quietly
Quiet living isn’t withdrawal or escapism; it’s the steady confidence that God fights for us even when we can’t. Scripture keeps circling back to this — Moses at the Red Sea, David waiting in silence, Paul urging a peaceful, dignified life. And every generation has its quiet saints, the ones whose gratitude steadies whole rooms. Their stillness isn’t passivity; it’s trust that the Lord’s love is enough to quiet any storm.
A Primer on Logos Bible Software: A Seminary Library in Your Pocket (Copy)
In our digital age, with countless apps vying for attention, one stands out for its potential for transformative impact: the YouVersion Bible App. This powerful tool, created by Life.Church, has become indispensable to millions of Christians globally.
“The Divine Conspiracy” — The Book That Helped Us See the Kingdom
Readers often describe The Divine Conspiracy in the same breath as "slow" and "life-altering." This is not a book to skim. Willard writes with the patience of a professor and the tenderness of a pastor, inviting you into what he calls a "conspiracy" of grace—a quiet, subversive work of God teaching his people how to live.
Who Counts? The Revolutionary Ethics of God
The old question still echoes across every border and every room: Who counts? Every culture draws its circle, letting some people in and leaving others out. But the story of Scripture keeps pressing that circle wider. Ruth steps in from the margins. Boaz risks reputation to welcome her. Jesus goes further still, stretching love past every line we draw. In his kingdom, the neighbor is always the one we’re tempted to ignore.
The Power of a Single Seed
A single seed can sit in the dark for years, looking like nothing much at all, and still hold a future you’d never guess. That’s how God works with us. We plant what feels small — an act of faith, a quiet prayer, a conversation we almost didn’t have — and he grows it into something with reach and shelter and blessing. You never know which seed will outlive you. So plant with hope.
One Body, Many Parts: What Is a Church?
Somehow God builds a church out of people who’d never choose each other on their own. Corinth was proof of that — sailors and scholars, the devout and the jaded, all learning to live as one body. Paul’s image still holds. A church is less a polished institution than a family gathered around a table, each person wanted, each part needed, every difference woven into something unexpectedly whole.
Anchored in the Eternal: How God Becomes Our Safe Harbor
Peace doesn’t rise from our efforts, or from searching our own hearts for something solid. It comes from knowing the God who has already moved toward us in love. At the cross, we see his heart laid bare — holiness without harshness, sovereignty without distance, justice wrapped in mercy. Let that glimpse of God steady you. Anchor yourself there, where his character becomes your calm.
Everything is Spiritual
There is no part of life untouched by the Spirit of God. Work and worship, rest and recreation, labor and laughter — it’s all his domain. The sacred doesn’t start when the music does on Sunday morning; it starts when you wake up, when you breathe, when you create, when you serve. You’re not living in two worlds, one holy and one not. You’re living in one — and it’s charged with the presence of God. Everything is spiritual.
Storytelling: The Power of Our Testimonies
Every one of us carries a story that only makes sense when seen through God’s eyes. The heartbreaks, failures and long detours — He’s been in all of it, redeeming, reworking, rebuilding. When we tell our stories truthfully, the light gets in. Others see him, not just us. And somehow, our scars start to heal. Because with God, every story turns toward glory.
From Wonderblind to Wonder-Full
Wonder begins when we stop assuming we already see. Jesus’ invitation — come and see — is a summons to wakefulness, to reimagine the world as shot through with divine beauty. Every moment, every face, every leaf in sunlight hums with his presence. Apprenticeship to Jesus restores our sight — turning us from wonderblind to wonder-full, alive again to the shimmering grace of all things.
Your Many Siblings: God Could Not Be Satisfied with One Child
God wanted more than one Son. The Word became flesh so that the only begotten might become the first among many. Love moved him — not to multiply servants, but to multiply sons. The cross was his way to family, his means to glory. Christ our Brother, God our Father, and we, his children — justified, glorified, gathered home together.
It Took Twelve Times
Windchimes whisper in our garden as kids next door call “Papa!” and I ask God for words. Silence settles; a hummingbird perches. Then the memory: our first argument, my ache to “love better,” and his answer — I love you. I pushed it away until, the twelfth time, something cracked open. Softened, I finally believed it. He keeps saying it still. Love is home. Love is how he speaks.
Church: The Case for & Against Community
We crave freedom from others — until isolation exposes our need for them. The myth of independence tells us we’ll find truth alone, but our souls were made for relationship.
Overly Careful to Wisely Careless: A Journey Back
When trust is broken, pain can echo through every new relationship. Healing means learning to decode the white noise — those whispers that say everyone will leave. God invites us into something different: to risk love again, to let safe people stay. Healing happens in community, through presence and grace, until we finally believe what’s always been true — we are loved and never alone.
Beaches and Dolphins and True Freedom
A dolphin stranded on the beach isn’t free — it’s dying. Freedom isn’t doing whatever we want; it’s living how we were made to live. We were created to thrive in the presence of God, not apart from him. In Jesus, we’re freed from sin and freed to live fully — to love, to serve and to breathe deep in the ocean of his grace.
Trouble Brings Me Back
Bad news hit like a cannonball: a massive, unexpected tax bill on top of triple tuition and soaring costs. Jenn and I spun scenarios, fear rising — until we realized we hadn’t prayed. Trouble exposed what I was trusting. When God is first, I’m steadied; when outcomes are first, I’m tossed. Trials can grow endurance (James 1:2–4). Today, I’m learning to wear the world loosely and run back to him.