"A good beginning makes a good ending." These are the words encased in glass on the hallway wall of the university building I enter every day. Each year we welcome a new class of enthusiastic, wide-eyed pharmacy students eager to get to work and fulfill the requirements for their doctoral degree. They come from various states and countries with this one thing in common. And it doesn't take long before the novelty gives way to the reality of a rigorous and often grueling journey ahead. I always love the excitement that goes with meeting and greeting these new students. I've also always loved the process of preparing my own kids for a new school year. There's so many hopes of good things to come and expectations of great accomplishments. I think it's a prime moment in time when Continue Reading
When Brave Calls Us to Lay Down Our Sword
I am a sword-slinger. My weapon of choice is sarcasm. I like to swagger into a tense situation and slash through my opponent’s heart with a sharp word. After all, I am a writer. For years, I considered it my responsibility to fight for the tender-hearted underdog in my family. I was called to defend the helpless by bickering with a bully at our dinner table. Every conversation was an epic battle. I wanted to right a wrong, but my verbal sparring techniques only created more conflict and confusion. I wasn’t winning any wars or changing a thing. My superpowers were sorely lacking. I thought my relative needed to reform, but God wanted to refine me. The apocalyptic arguments at our family gatherings finally ended when I cried out to Christ and begged Him to fight this battle on Continue Reading
We are Made to Brave our Story – Made For Brave Sisterhood
Anxiety twisted and turned in the pit of my stomach just minutes before I walked on stage. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and silently prayed for peace and confirmation from the Lord about what I was about to do. I was teetering between two very different thoughts. The first was how exciting it was going to be to share God’s miraculous story of how He saved me and my marriage. The second was what in the world am I thinking in telling people about the skeletons that lay ever so neatly in the closet my past? At that moment I didn’t feel very brave. “Lord, I need you, please help me” I whispered. I suddenly felt a warm blanket of peace cover my body from head to toe. Although the butterflies in my stomach were in full fight or flight mode, the peace I felt was Continue Reading
For Those Who Need Freedom From Regret – Made For Brave Sisterhood
I had just turned 17 when I made a choice I will forever regret. With my broken heart buried beneath the heavy weight of shame, my choice ruled my life for many years. Years where I experienced more defeat that victory. Domino effect years leading me into deeper brokenness and unfulfilled purpose. But it’s also a choice God used to teach me about His grace. About His love. And about His redemption. It’s one that taught me I am made to brave regret. "No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love." -Romans Continue Reading