I have a confession to make: I am a perfectionist. Not a minor perfectionist either, liking things done well and making deadlines on time. I am the kind of person who literally does not know when to stop, because things could always be better. I could always be better. Do more. Get more done in a day.
Read MoreIt’s ironic how the words of Invictus match the attitude of a former control freak. I was never in control of my life. I’d like to sit here and tell you I knew what I was doing from day one, but that’s just not true. I’d be lying. Married by twenty-five! That’s funny. College graduate! Yeah, nope.
Read MoreI just returned home from a trip out west with my family. We traveled to South Dakota and Wyoming seeing spectacular views, enjoying the outdoors and hiking strenuous trails. I always find a sense of peace when I am out there with no cell or Internet service, respecting and relishing in God’s creation.
Read MoreLife is full of seasons and each season is an opportunity to learn something new. In a season of waiting, we learn the faithfulness of God. In a season of anticipation, we learn that God keeps His word. In a season of pain, we learn suffering is part of the journey.
Read MoreIt was the fifth consecutive day I woke up with a headache. After trying my own remedies and finding them all useless, I asked my father, a general practitioner with over 50 years of experience. Dad said that early morning headaches were often caused by worry.
Read MoreWhat is love and how do we know if it is lasting? I have asked myself this question for years. It has been present in the back of my mind starting with my broken family when I was a teenager and continuing through my many broken relationships and deaths of family members and friends over the years.
Read MoreI remember exactly where I was the day my season of waiting began. It was 2014, summer, right in the middle of hot, sticky July. My mother, sister, brother and I were standing in a department store waiting to check out just as the tornado sirens buzzed. Rain began and thunder followed almost immediately. The line was long, snake-like, intimidating, never-ending.
Read MoreSingleness. That word can feel heavy. Talking about singleness evokes many emotions and opinions. Sometimes this world looks at singleness as some sort of rare and life-strangling disease that can only be cured by excessive dating. I cannot tell you how many times I’m told statements like “any new man in your life?” or “have you tried putting yourself out there?” or “you’re just too picky!”. These statements place a painful burden on singles that make us feel we are missing out on something and even worse, feelings as if God is holding out on us. I know the temptation to doubt God’s promises is dangerously entrapping, but singleness is not a problem to be fixed, but a blessing to be cherished.
Read MoreAnother Valentine’s Day rolled around and I’m still on my own. And you know what? I’m okay. Not “okay” as in bitter and four cats away from being a grumpy old cat lady. Not “okay” as in hoping-if-I-am-okay-God-will-remind-me-with-a-boyfriend.
Read MoreSince I’m impatient with a pen in my hand, I have created my own flowy shorthand. It’s efficient and even fun to dash down a symbol and carry on. I particularly relish the swoops and loops of the ampersand I use in place of “and” in all my writing.
Read MoreOne year ago, we were spending our Labor Day weekend in a children's hospital. What started as a routine wellness visit with the pediatrician, turned into our tiny baby boy being admitted to the hospital for "Failure to Thrive". He was three months old at the time and, despite our efforts, his weight had begun to fall away from the growth curve. The pediatrician felt it best to have his calorie intake monitored and see if a solution to his slow and fluctuating weight gain could be found.
Read MoreI’ve been reflecting on security a lot. My cat finds security in cozy spots - the space between the toilet and the sink, under the covers of my bed, a box of clothes to donate sitting on my closet floor, or even the back of a kitchen cabinet if I accidentally leave it open. When he’s scared or nervous, he’ll crawl into those places because they make him feel safe.
Read MoreWhat do you do when you feel unqualified to go after your dreams? If you are currently feeling this way, you are in good company. Throughout the Bible, we see God use people who feel unqualified.
Read MoreIt started with a hike and my prideful frustrations at the bottom of a mountain. I was miffed. Life was not going the way I wanted and, honestly, hadn’t been for a few months now, and I was going to take a solo hike to exercise my independence. It was the one thing I could control, the one thing I could orchestrate, and with that attitude in mind I started hiking.
Read MoreSo often, we can’t see past the space right around us. We can get caught up in trying to see past the fog and figure out a way out of it. But maybe God just wants us to be in the fog for a little bit. Because it’s in that space that faith becomes a real thing...not just something we talk about.
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Ruthie Allen is a friend, wife, mother, entrepreneur, and photographer. She began the Return to Rest Retreat in 2014, understanding that her many titles complimented her, but that they were not what her identity was built on. Return to Rest is a retreat for ALL women rooted in finding true rest through Jesus Christ. Ruthie is excited to continue to share this message of rest with others as she facilitates this retreat in a cozy cabin in New Hampshire.
I write this in the middle of deep silence. A sense of emptiness finds me, and I know it is not emptiness. It’s an ache. I work eight to twelve hour days, which is normal for most, and I have tried to shove too much in between. I finally found an hour to myself, and I wanted to cry. I cry a lot. When all the activity and bustle I have organized for myself no longer swirls around me, I am left to stare at all I have swept under the rug.
Read MoreToday, Christians view hardship as a “season” that will come and go. In order to be victorious Christians, we need to reframe our thinking by accepting that most of our lives will be hard for one reason or another. I’m writing this as a gentle yet sober reminder to today’s Christians: We are in the trenches of spiritual warfare. We may not see it as we go about our school schedules, work routines, and summer holidays, but we are in the thick of it. By deciding today, if we will use our moments to the glory of God or the glory of self, we are declaring whose side we are on.
Read MoreDon’t be afraid? Stand still? Stay calm? I can imagine the looks on the peoples’ faces upon hearing this from Moses. There were probably a few dropped jaws, involuntary guffaws, and shouts of disbelief. The Israelites were ex-slaves and refugees. They left behind everything they owned and knew to follow a man who claimed to have the word of God and currently faced a terrifying unknown future. I’m quite certain that I wouldn’t have been eager to trust Moses’s exhortation at this point.
Read MoreThe topic of anxiety is one that pulls at my heart like no other could. But I’m going to be honest, I don’t suffer from anxiety like most people do. I suffer from the outside looking in. I see people I love being swallowed whole by this epidemic, and I feel so powerless… but am I?
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