“Where is God?” “Does He care?” “Does He even see me?” In all of our lives, sooner or later, we begin to smell smoke. Illness, broken relationships, imploded dreams, or disappointments in our careers threaten to burn our lives down. Sometimes, they do. We find ourselves at ground zero, with life going exactly the opposite from what we expected, and we wonder: “Is God even paying attention?” In her new book, Play With Fire, Bianca Olthoff takes us through her own journey of questioning God’s presence, His goodness, and His plan for her life in the midst of the fire. With [...]

As a little girl, I was convinced that being older was way better than being young. On my fourth birthday, I remember telling my mom I wanted to skip four and be five. Five had to be better than four. I carried this sentiment with me all the way into adolescence. But it wasn’t just about wanting to do what the big kids did; I also believed something faulty about growing up. I thought being a grown up was easier. Whether it was the movies I watched, or not really paying attention to the adult world around me, I somehow [...]

Recently, I got new glasses—big black frames that hopefully make me look more trendy than nerdy. My old pair were smaller, more rectangular, and more in style when I got them five years ago. For all that time, they seemed to work just fine, so I kept putting off seeing the eye doctor. But, a few months ago, my husband reminded me that a new pair would (mostly) be covered by our insurance and that it may be good to have a spare pair for our vacation this summer. I made an appointment. Two weeks after seeing my eye doctor [...]

“Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.”  ― Brené Brown, Daring Greatly Whenever I think of the words brave or bravery, the word warrior comes to mind: Mel Gibson with a blue face, Russell Crowe as the Gladiator, or even Mother Theresa with her blue edged head covering. I always associate bravery with big people doing big things—for God, others, or themselves. I very rarely hear the word brave and think of the small things. Yet, I am beginning to learn that the small things may provide the greatest opportunities for courage. Getting up in the morning, [...]