Welcome to My Journal!
UPDATE: I’ve moved my regular writing to Substack! This is now my archives.
Here on my blog, I love to write personal stories, truths I’m learning from studying Scripture, lessons I’ve learned from those wiser than me, and what God is teaching me through writing.
I’d for you sit back in your favourite chair while the little ones sleep or while you’re on break from work and read a bit of what I’m thinking on these days. Feel free to reach out with any questions or thoughts of your own!
What is the Spiritual Gift of Discernment?
The spiritual gift of discernment shows up twice in the Bible and with very little for a working definition. This has left a lot of room for people to interpret and put their own experiences into what this gift could be.
How to Get Back on Track with Bible Study
Have you gotten off track with your Bible study habits? When my twins were born, my habits were quickly uprooted. But when my life quieted down again, here's how I rebuilt my quiet time routine and got back into God's Word.
Should I Use A Commentary for Bible Study?
Should you use a commentary when studying the Bible? Isn't that cheating? Here's why I use a Bible commentary (plus some recommendations!).
This Book of the Bible is an Unsuspecting Work of Art
Once you know the whole story, you'll look at Leviticus differently. And you'll be looking at your story, too.
Embodied Discernment: Learning to Discern with Our Minds, Hearts, and Actions
With the gospel as our backdrop, we need to engage discernment as whole people. God created us with minds, souls, and bodies. When we only engage one of these, our discernment is lacking. It’s weakened because we’re only engaging part of us, rather than our entire selves.
Where the Spiritual Formation Movement Goes Wrong
We’re exhorted to seek solitude, journal towards holiness, go on nature walks to connect with God, and take extended periods of silence to listen and clear our minds. Do all these practices and more, they say, to grow closer to God and be holy. Dear reader, do all these checklist items miss the theological and even practical mark that the Bible lays out for us?
How To Be In God’s Word When You’re Struggling with Anxiety
You’ve been told all your life that God’s Word will put your mind at peace and calm your fears, yet they still rage no matter what you do. Even as you repeat Bible verses to yourself, your heart stamps in your chest. You try to focus on the text before you, but anxiety fogs and clouds your brain. How do we stay in God’s Word while anxiety fills us?
Communion with God Through Ordinary Means
Growing up, I always craved the intimate relationship I saw that others had with God. But it seemed like this intimate relationship was always out of reach. What I didn’t realize is that in Christ, God has provided the way for me to have an intimate relationship with him—one of speaking and listening, of learning and growing in love.
Learning the Unfolding Story of Redemption
A book review of Zach Keele’s book, The Unfolding Word. The Unfolding Word seeks to help us see how the entire Bible unfolds as one unified story held together by the gospel.
When You Disagree With Your Sister in Christ
Have you ever sat across from a friend and felt your theological disagreements strike up between you like a jagged fence? Perhaps it felt like a crack in the foundation of your friendship, and your heart ached a little—from wonder at how she disagreed with you to fears of losing your friend. How do we move forward?
Why You Need Your Local Church
Church can feel like an add-on to our weeks. We’ve already invested so much time in going to small groups and other activities. Is church even important? We have the music, the teaching, the Word, and the fellowship all contained in our pockets. Is it really worth waking everyone up early and piling into the car to drive to church each Sunday to do what we’ve already been doing all week?
Do We Grieve Over False Teachers?
False teaching should make us mad. It should make us indignant for God’s glory and the souls of the lost. But does it ever cause us to mourn? If we felt this kind of grief, how would that change our words and actions towards false teachers? Perhaps we’d be better proclaimers of the truth they need.
Discerning Even the Best of Teachers
Each of us is faced with decisions in life, and the hardest ones often involve people we love and know to be faithful. But have you ever felt this tension between Bible teachers you know and love? How do we discern what’s true even among the best of Bible teachers?
Memorial Pieces of My Home
I have memorials in my home. I have pieces that provoke feelings, memories, and thoughts. For each one that brings grief, I have another that gives me a glimpse at eternity. But even these memorials are temporary. I also need something that doesn’t tarnish. Something everlasting. I need to treasure God’s Word in my heart. Perhaps in physical ways that I can see and tangible ways I can touch.
Laying a Foundation to be Discerning
False teachers are everywhere. How do we grow in discernment to know truth from error? First we must lay a foundation. Here’s how.
The Skill of Discernment: How to Discern Right and Almost Right
Discernment is like examining a well-done counterfeit painting—we need an expert, well-trained eye to see the tiny detail differences between the genuine and the fake. But how is this eye for detail trained? How do we strengthen our discernment muscles?
Learning how to Discern Our Feelings
As natural as our feelings are, they don’t always communicate what is true. Our feelings often fall short of reality, though they can easily convince us of a different perception. But as believers, we are called to live by and think on what is true—not what feels true—and the truth of God’s Word must always prevail over our feelings.
Loving God and Loving Neighbour Well by Knowing the Word
When we think of ways to grow in our love for God and our neighbours, we often think of public or visible acts of service in which we give our time and resources: volunteering in church, donating money and clothes, babysitting for a tired mom, cooking a meal for a mourning family, and the like. But have we ever considered that loving God and loving our neighbours well means that we must know God’s Word well?
When Motherhood Changes Your Bible Study Time
How do we study the Bible as sleep-deprived, weary moms? Mothers at any stage can easily fall into the lie that says we must study the Bible a certain way, everyday. Though Bible study is essential to the Christian life, we must guard against Bible study legalism.
Keeping the Gospel at the Center of Your Bible Study
I avoided the Old Testament because I couldn’t make sense of it, and I really didn’t like how angry God seemed. There were times when the New Testament left me baffled and with more questions than answers (for example, the entire book of Hebrews). This disconnect begins when we forget the narrative arch of Scripture: the gospel.