Thank you for joining me as I walk by faith, and I hope you will continue to follow me on my journey!
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All tagged Biblical
It’s a saying we all have heard, and we know it is true.
The wet, dreary weather we tend to endure in early spring gives way to a beautiful array of vibrant colors and energizing scents as time passes.
While the rain is not a welcome occurrence, it is necessary for the beauty that we all look forward to each year.
Jazz and Jambalaya, bayous and banana fosters, Cajun cooking, and riverboat cruising.
New Orleans has long since been on my travel bucket list, and I was so excited to get to visit a few years back with my parents.
Now, we all know that NOLA has a bit of a reputation, so before my arrival, I braced myself for the noise and chaos that I would inevitably encounter on Bourbon Street.
The ladies and I all took turns naming our fears.
Many of the worries expressed related to health concerns, loved ones, and an uncertain future.
For me, I often feel anxious about the unknown.
I started graduate school which completely threw off my normal routine.
If you know anything about me, you know that following a normal schedule is especially important to me!
With the onset of this new endeavor, I was forced to reallocate my time, and it was exceedingly difficult.
I struggled to be available for my ministry, my personal life, and even my relationship with God.
Have you ever felt truly alone? Maybe you are facing a situation that is unfamiliar to your closest family or friends, are in a disagreement with your spouse or significant other, or just cannot seem to relate to the walks of life that the others around you are experiencing. Many situations in life can make us feel like we are isolated. When we feel this way, it can be so easy to retreat into ourselves. Like little hermit crabs, we crawl into our shells, and, trust me, this is not a safe place at all. I know from experience that the enemy can get to us more easily when we isolate ourselves.
We all know that old idiom, “Seeing is believing.” Let’s face it, our society is pretty much based on proof, evidence, and tangible research. It can be hard for us to believe something that we have not actually seen, felt, or witnessed for ourselves, especially when that thing seems unbelievable. Take Thomas, for example. In John 20, Jesus appears to His disciples, except for Thomas, after His crucifixion and resurrection. When the disciples tell Thomas what they have seen, he does not believe them. So the other disciples tell him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he says to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe” (John 20:25).
Well, I don’t completely agree with this statement.
Let me explain…
After losing my sight, my life changed drastically.
I left a lot behind as I struggled to move forward with my new circumstances, and it felt as though a lot had left me behind as well.
Thinking about the simplicities that came with sighted life was difficult, and as time progressed, I found it painful to remember the early days of my blindness and all of the trials that I endured
My parents were constantly hearing noises of furniture being rolled or scraped across the floor above their heads. I have had to let this beloved pastime go since losing my sight.
Honestly, rearranged furniture is now one of my worst nightmares!
It would take me forever to get used to the changes, and thinking about all of the accompanying bumps and bruises makes me cringe!
We aren’t professional outdoorsmen by any means and won’t be tackling the Appalachian Trail any time soon, but we do enjoy an afternoon spent meandering through God’s beautiful creation.
On a recent long weekend, we drove to Berry College, where our goal was to hike to the House of Dreams. The charming cottage sits atop Lavender Mountain, 1,360 feet above sea level, and is surrounded by vibrant gardens and foliage and spectacular views of the campus and city of Rome, Georgia far below.
The House of Dreams was built as a gift for Martha Berry, the founder of Berry College, in 1922 by students and faculty.
It was meant to be somewhat of a retreat for her, and we were looking forward to having a peaceful retreat of our own into the mountains.
“Okay, here’s what we have to do. We’re going to lower ourselves about three feet down into the gully and then climb about four feet up on the other side, and then we have some briars to work through… but it’ll be fine!”
These are the words I heard as my dad and I began hiking back to the watershed lake that sits about a mile behind my childhood home.
I had spent my whole childhood, teenage, and young adult years exploring these woods, and I was excited about the adventure.
It’s a saying we all have heard, and we know it is true.
The wet, dreary weather we tend to endure in early spring gives way to a beautiful array of vibrant colors and energizing scents as time passes.
While the rain is not a welcome occurrence, it is necessary for the beauty that we all look forward to each year.
Without visual cues, it can be so hard to identify someone by their voice, especially when I am in a crowded room or when the voice belongs to someone who I do not speak with often.
There are some people, like family members and close friends, who I can immediately recognize as soon as they utter one word, but this is definitely not the case with everyone.
Jazz and Jambalaya, bayous and banana foster’s, Cajun cooking, and riverboat cruising.
New Orleans has long since been on my travel bucket list, and I was so excited to finally get to visit a few months back with my parents.
Now, we all know that NOLA has a bit of a reputation, and, before my arrival, I braced myself for the noise and chaos that I would inevitably encounter on Bourbon Street.
Have you ever felt let down?
Maybe it was a friend who did not fulfill a promise, a colleague who did not finish their part of the work or a family member who was not there when you needed them most.
It can be so hard at times to find people we can truly depend on and trust.
Recently, I found a trustworthy companion in the most unlikely of places…
My 17-month old nephew, Charlie.
