All tagged Walk by faith

Why Does God Allow Bad Things to Happen?

As humans, we are especially prone to asking the “why” question when bad things happen in our lives.

Why did I get fired?

Why did my mother have to leave us so early?

Why am I going through this divorce?

As Christians, we know that God is all-powerful. So, it seems natural for us to begin questioning Him as well.

How to Leave the Noise and Listen to God

A question that I frequently get asked is how I use my iPhone without my sight. 

Thanks to Voice Over, the screen reader software on Apple devices, I can listen to a friendly electronic voice telling me what is on the screen. Using this feature with certain gestures on the touch screen, I can text, scroll through Facebook, send emails, and use my phone in much of the same way as a sighted person.

While I am very thankful for this technology, sometimes I simply crave silence. 

I realized that I had spent the twenty years of my sighted life taking the ability to sit in the quiet and read a book for granted. 

Letting Go of Doubt

Have you ever had moments in your life where you just feel invincible? I’m talking about those times when you feel like you can conquer any task, overcome any hurdle, and smash through any roadblock. For most of my younger years, I felt invincible. As I grew older and I started to feel the impact of the hardships of life, those moments became fewer and farther between. Especially after I lost my sight, I experienced more times where I felt defeated and weak. All of a sudden, even the smallest, most minute tasks seemed impossible. How would I ever be able to pick out my own clothes, prepare food independently, or finish college without my sight?

High Hopes

Hope is a word that is not lacking in most of our vocabularies, but how often do we slow down and really think about what it means? Here are a few common definitions: “A feeling of optimism, a strong sense of expectant desire for something to happen, or to look forward to a certain event with anticipation.” Often, what we are hoping for is an object, entity, or idea that cannot, at the moment, be seen or experienced.

My Untold Sight Loss Journey - Part 1

There is no doubt that my journey with blindness has been a challenging one.

The past 7 years have brought many experiences; some have been triumphant while others have been downright terrifying.

Despite the grief that accompanied my sight loss, I have been able to find joy in sharing how God has worked through it all.

Over the next few weeks, my blogs will contain stories from the past 7 years that I have not written or spoken about before.

Some will be hard, and some will be light-hearted, but each one will point right back to God and his amazing grace. I hope you enjoy!

What is the Shield of Faith?

Have you ever felt the truth of the saying, “When it rains, it pours”?

Sometimes, it seems as though we are stuck in a season of life where one trial follows another, and they all begin to build up until the weight of it all is crushing.

Blindness often brings upon those seasons because it impacts so many distinct aspects of my daily life.

What is the Armor of God?

One of the most difficult parts about blindness is all of the unseen “enemies'' that seem to lurk around every corner.

I bump into or trip over objects that I didn't know were there, jump ten feet in the air when someone starts speaking in a room that I thought was vacant, or flinch when something brushes my arm and I have no way to figure out what it was. The unseen can be frightening!

In reality, however, all of us sighted or blind, encounter unseen enemies that are far more sinister.

Am I Following God's Will?

Confession time!

It can be difficult for me to take the advice of others. In fact, sometimes I will even seek out affirmation over advice because I know it will be much easier to swallow.

My mom may critique an outfit down to the color of the thread if I ask her opinion, whereas it can be easier to just ask my husband who will always say, ”You look great, honey!”

If I send a blog post for revision to my editor, Erica, she will probably knit-pick it to death, whereas someone else would say, “This is great work!”

You get my point, it can seem easier and better for our ego to ask for advice from someone who will agree with what we have already decided, but this way of thinking doesn’t always lead to the best outcome.

Is My Life More Than A Tragedy?

My trip to Leader Dogs for the Blind in Michigan last month was a blessing for many different reasons.

The main reason, of course, is that I came back with my wonderful guide dog Jackson. He is such a gentleman and has truly changed my life already.

One of the other main reasons it was such a great trip is because of all of the people that I met. There were about twelve other people in my class at Leader Dog, and everyone was from different places and backgrounds with varying ages, careers, and even ranges of vision.

No, not everyone who receives a guide dog is totally blind.

Should I Believe The Lies?

Do you ever hear that little voice in your head?

You know, the not-so-nice one whose only goal seems to be to bring you down.

The one that repeats phrases like,

You’re not good enough” or “No one really cares about you.”

In today’s world, deception is everywhere.

In the news, in our favorite TV shows, and even in the phrases whispered by that little voice.

But this phenomenon is not new.

In fact, the enemy has been trying to deceive us and pull us away from God’s truth since the very beginning of mankind.

God, Why Did You Let This Happen?

My nephew, Charlie, is 17 months old, and it has been so much fun watching him grow.

Listening to him learn new words has probably been my favorite part of this process. One of the first words, other than Mama and Daddy, that he said clearly was “book”. It was adorable! I remember being so amazed at how this small little human had expressed such a clear thought. With each new word that he says, it brings a smile to my face.

It won’t be long before he expands his vocabulary further and even begins to string these solitary words into small sentences. Before we know it, he will be asking that question that parents with small children hear so often…”Why?”