While reading the final chapter of the final book in the bible, I felt horrified. This line froze me, solid: “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars–their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” Oh my goodness. “All the liars” — will go . . . into the fiery lake . . .of burning sulfer. That’s me. . . “ The immensity of fear suddenly gripped my chest.  I am a liar. I lie when I don’t mean to. I get defensive, thinking I am telling the truth, only…

“I don’t know, I don’t have a crystal ball.” I’ve noticed this is a catch-phrase for financial analysts when on TV.  They love it. They’re point being, they have no idea what the market will do. No one knows. But, much like us, everyone wants to know… I want to know what God is doing. I want to know why things have happened the way they have: I want to know the reason a family member passed away, why I am still stuck in different areas in my life and how God is going to show up in the future. I want to demand answers from God on many a…

I sat on the curb after practice, wondering, “Is mom ever going to come?” It was a particularly hard high school year. For one, my nose got hit with a field hockey stick. Even today, it sits a little crooked. And on this particular day, after all those sprints, shooting pains shot up my legs. I could hardly sit. Every position was agony. So with my teammates long gone, I moaned. Then, I replayed everything: the shots I didn’t make, the girls that were faster than me, and how I must have looked downright stupid. Five minutes turned into twenty. Would she ever come? Times of waiting are battles –…

I say this sometimes to my kid: “If mommy and daddy had all the kids of the world in front of us, and we had to choose one, we would search and search until we found you. We examine every kid face-to-face, looking far and wide FOR YOU. And, we’d keep going until you were safe in our arms. And, when we found you, we’d pick you and keep you forever as our own.” My friend in Christ, Jesus did that very thing — for you. He wants you. He chose you “before the creation of the world…in love.” (Eph. 1:4) Though (Jesus) was rich (in Heaven), for your sake he became…

The thing about leaks are – they start slow. I’ve had a roof leak before. Imperceptibly, a bit of water makes its way through your roof. At first, you have no idea it is happening. You see nothing. Until a water spot appears. Left unattended, that water spot becomes a drip. Unchecked still, it floods from ceiling to wood floor. Disappointment starts as a leak until discouragement comes like a flood. I thought along these same lines as I tried to detangle my daughter’s hair the other day. Because I hadn’t attended to her knots daily, now her hair was a woolen blanket, 1-inch thick of a knotted mess. Whoops. It was torture…

Give. That’s what I do when I meet with people. They ask to meet. I link up with them. And, usually, then they ask me: 1. How to write and get published 2. How they can stop feeling afraid, held captive or stuck  3. How to start writing … Or, they just unload and tell me their whole-life story. Rarely, do people ask about – me. Which I am okay with. On good days, I say to myself: God, it’s not all about me; it’s all about you. And, God, with beauty, shows up through me, for them. I love seeing Him work. But, on this particular day, I felt tired. After…

When I sat down on my porch, I looked up. A little spider connected to his web was hanging down a little bit over me. Why harm him? He’s just sitting there. He looks dead, anyway… I continued on with God, reading, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” (Romans 1:17) I thought about groups of people who desperately try to earn God’s favor: through works, through trying to be enough and through focusing on all they are not, rather than focusing on who Christ has made them to be. Maybe they aren’t really, saved. No sooner did I think this, than I felt an itch on my back.…

I love how God wants to speak to us, intimately. Through prayer, I have gotten such a glimpse for his heart for me, for you and for all we are facing. This is how I believe God might want to speak, personally to you today… Oh, how I hope these words and bible verses speak to the deep of you! My child, What you cannot see, I can. I know the plans I have for you – for prospering – and not for harming you. What would it look like for you to really trust me? To lean on me? To know me? (Kelly’s response: I guess, God, it would…