I, (Alycia), had the pleasure of interviewing Anna Cantrall to discuss her life and incredible story. Every person has a story, a testimony that shows how God took them from glory to glory. This is Anna’s story.
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Information overload. Do those words ring any alarms for you? They do for me, especially right now in the times we’re living in. Everything feels so heavy in the world—and it is! Sometimes I feel overwhelmed. Do you? I think it’s okay to admit when we are not “okay”. One place I often feel frustrated is while I’m on social media. There are such great things about social media and I am an advocate for all of them. I love to be a light in that corner of the internet and I do believe that God can use each of us who belong to Him, even through our social media accounts. A frustrating side of social media is reading everyone’s opinions on everything under the sun.
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What do you do when life disappoints you? Or what about when it’s someone who lets you down? How do you handle those moments in life?
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Whether we want to admit it or not, each of us has faced the blow of rejection at some point in our lives — whether personal or professional. No one in history has been spared the bitter taste of this (Jesus included; His rejection was something else altogether! See Isaiah 53:3.) and sometimes, it can feel like a real struggle to move past it.
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Whenever I find myself in a used bookstore, I browse every single section including the Christian books. Most of the time, I see the same books over and over at each store--the ones that have managed to become bestsellers across the country. I usually have either already read the ones available or know that they are not for me.
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Oh dear, here I was, worrying again! A phone call I had just received had made my mood spiral down. I was reacting in ways I did not like. My heart was racing, I was fearful and sad, all at once.
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Seeking God and soaking in God’s word have been emphasized many times in the Bible. When we meditate on God’s word we carry them in our hearts and soak in their goodness and strength.
“Did you use your eyeballs?” I respond when my husband can’t find something and asks if I’ve seen it. He’s a good sport to go back, look more thoroughly and usually returns with the found object. We laugh that he can never see what is right under his nose.
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It was a Friday morning, my day off- I enjoyed a quiet slow start and had a leisurely breakfast. As I prayed about how to spend my day, a verse I had read came to mind. “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.”-Matthew 7:12a NIV
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Switching on the kettle to make my morning tea, I looked out through the window at the sky, dark with a beautiful full moon! I pull out my journal, Bible and pen- and sit on our red couch to meet with Jesus one on one!
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I 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.
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Last time we talked about burning ships and building bridges. We touched on my choice to not be in church leadership as a female. I want to tell you about a conversation that I had with an elder’s wife last week on the day that article came out.
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I have always preferred opposites. Noise to complete silence. Smiles instead of tears. Light instead of the dark
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I started this book review with Romans 12:2 because I believe that God allows us to choose what we intake and He also gives us discernment. I was asked to review “Everybody Fights, So why Not Get Better at It?” By Kim and Penn Holderness.
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We often think of sanctuaries as sacred buildings adorned with stained glass, but sanctuaries are any place we can retreat for refuge and renewal. Any space that speaks to our souls and places us in a posture of reverence can be a sanctuary.
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There is magic in a marsh sunset, when the water mirrors the sky above. I can watch the water, looking for ripples of movement to reveal the wildlife under the surface while admiring wispy clouds swirling overhead. And I can witness the water and sky as one, the water working to reflecting much bigger blue above.
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I want to tell you about something I’ve noticed on the journey of building bridges and burning ships (part 1 here). Labels. They are so fun. When you meet a person you start to categorize them - the color of their skin, their age, their gender, their sexuality, or maybe what they do for a living. We don’t intentionally place people in a box - nonetheless we do. One of the things I’ve noticed in the modern-day church is an unintentional “burning ships”.
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“Having children is like a walk in the park. Jurassic Park, to be precise.”
Before I had kids, this was a quote that I laughed at but didn’t really understand. Now, it’s something that I laugh at because it can feel so true. It doesn’t matter how many of your friends or family have kids before you and offer their advice and experiences to assist you on your own journey, there is truly nothing that can prepare you for what lies ahead. Much like the crew that John Hammond assembled in the first of this movie franchise - not a single one of them knew enough about dinosaurs despite all the books they’d read and bones they’d assessed to face them in real-time.
We had just moved from Chennai, India to Auckland, New Zealand. My husband started designing bridges here. Within a couple of weeks, the boys, 18 and 14, were busy with studies, and Ranjan worked long hours at the office. I realized I could not work as an architect in New Zealand with my Indian qualification. I took that and everything else to the Lord in prayer.
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I lean my head back, spread out my arms and legs and allow the water to softly suspend me on the surface. I’m not swimming, forcing forward motion, or treading water, barely keeping my head above water. I’m floating: free to rest, be still and simply be. I welcome the weightlessness and wonder why I don’t float more often. Floating, in the water and out in the world, both takes faith and renews my faith. And I’m beginning to believe faith is a float.
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