Restored Joy
My heart felt like the hard, cracked ground of the desert. In a rare quiet moment when the neighbors weren’t having a party on our shared, covered rooftop, I climbed the stairs slowly. My teammate and I had been living in a little border town in western Cambodia for less than six months, but it […]
God’s Restorative Work in My Life Through Spiritual Direction
As I reflect on my life, I am incredibly thankful for God’s work of restoration and healing. I continue to be in awe of his outpouring of love through the years. He has truly pursued me with lovingkindness “all the days of my life” (Ps. 23:6 LSB). Being born and raised in Africa as an […]
Sabbath Week
Does your heart need space to slow down, rest, and process? Enter Sabbath. In her book Rhythms of Renewal, Rebekah Lyons said, “Taking a rest isn’t a sign of weakness. Yet our culture whispers the opposite: if we try harder, work smarter, make the right career moves . . . we just might live a life […]
Building a Healing Team
When I was praying about my word for 2024, the word “restore” kept coming to mind. I laughed a little to myself because, as I played with the word in my mind, it happened to rhyme. Restore 2024 I wrote it in my journal and decided it was the word, even if it rhymed. I’ve […]
In the Dust of the Wrecking Ball
The wrecking ball cracked against the building’s exterior—dust, debris, twists of metal poking out of piles of broken bricks. Within minutes, a once stately structure was flattened to the ground. Even though I was just watching a video, I found myself feeling depressed. What’s the point of working so hard to build something if, in […]
This Month’s Theme: Restore
Psalm 51:12 (ESV) Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. The carpenter kneels beside the old cabinet, tools in hand. His work is slow, gentle, as he takes what has become worn and broken, nicked and scratched, and restores beauty. It’s not perfect or like it was […]