The Daily Grind of Desiring God
This is what I desire these days of seeking and hoping for healing of my own brokenness: I want to be healed. I want to desire God. I want to WANT TO again. What gets in the way? Let’s see…I could blame my kids. They’re always running around acting like wild animals, and I feel […]
How Much Sacrifice is Too Much?
“Why are you running so hard?” the counselor asked us as we sat in his office a few years ago. My husband and I looked at each other, hoping the other would answer this question. We knew what the counselor saw, a life beyond full with ministry efforts, heaped on top of raising small children, […]
A Pep Talk for Those who Go
You know what I feel like we all need about right now? A PEP TALK. (If you don’t see the video, click here.) Let’s just break it down. The road less traveled HURTS. All you’ve given up? All you’ve sacrificed? All those armies of ants you’re fighting in your kitchen right now? It hurts. And […]
A Letter for the One Who’s Waiting
You in the waiting, Yes, you And yes, me too — For we are all waiting for something — Dear sister, Beloved one, You in the waiting, This much I know: There are no shortcuts to healing. There are no shortcuts to wholeness. For we can’t know God as Healer without first being wounded. And […]
Staying in the Game
We are delighted to end “Men’s Week” with a post for us all: men and women, fellow servants of Christ. Welcome one and all to comment, link-up, and interact as the brothers and sisters we are. ~~~~ I prefer fishing over baseball. Always have. Near my childhood home in Northern California, there was a creek full of smallmouth […]
When I Hit A Wall – A Story of Burnout Overseas and My Road to Healing
Today we’ve invited Brandie Green to share her story with us, the story of “hitting a wall” in her overseas life. Brandie, what did “hitting a wall” look like for you? In a twelve month period, my life was overwhelmed. Every six weeks for one year, something stressful happened, sometimes good, usually not good, sometimes big (death), sometimes […]
A Word to Our Weary Bones
Eighty percent of the overseas women surveyed say they have felt close to burnout.* Eighty percent. We received more submissions for this week’s theme of burnout than we’ve had for any theme, ever. Friends, we are a worn out group. No doubt, burnout is a very real issue for many people living in their home […]
How My Exercise Dread Died
I am not an exercise guru, but I did marry one. My husband is such a natural at sports that he quickly surpassed me in the two activities I taught him: volleyball and surfing. Suffice it to say, I’ve eaten my share of pie, both humble and coconut cream, that has added to a mounting […]
How Burnout Saved My Life
As a psychology student, our lecturers taught us that we could no longer tell our patients that they were experiencing a nervous breakdown. Rather we had to sugar coat and watch our weighty words and instead speak of burnout, which is precisely the same thing as a breakdown. Burnout is a breakdown of the emotions, […]
Burnout: A Retrospect
My husband Lowell and I served for thirteen years as a couple in South Asia. We labored hard and long. We poured out our lives. We took up our cross. We put our hands to the plow. None of the New Testament metaphors were lost on us. We did them all—whole-heartedly, without abandon. And somewhere […]
This week’s prompt: Burnout
We were sitting at Starbucks in Fresno, California. That’s when it came up in conversation. All of us ladies were attending Link Care, an intensive counseling program designed for women serving overseas. We had spent hours together in our group sessions with soggy tissues balled up in our hands. This was the last night before […]
Why is Sabbath So Hard?
“I have a disease… I am addicted to measurable productivity.” –Emily P. Freeman Does anyone else get twitchy when you try to force yourself to rest? Do you feel guilty? Self-indulgent? Bored? Does your to-do list buzz incessantly in your ear when you try to take a day off? Why is Sabbath so hard for us? […]