Training is repetitive. I remember being four or five and having an obsession with gymnastics. It started when I watched the Olympics for the first time and I wore my swimsuit because that was the closest thing I had to a leotard. Not long after my newfound obsession took root my parents decided to sign me up for gymnastics. As you can imagine, I did not reach Gabby Douglas’ level in the first week. In fact, I never got close.  I remember learning to do cartwheels, the splits, and a backbend. The training was not comfortable, and I recall the coaches gently pushing me to the ground when I was not flexible enough to do the splits. 

There are many days when I crawl out of bed and the thought of being thankful is nearly nonexistent. Life can be busy, hard, complicated and thankfulness seems like a random puzzle piece. 

Why does thankfulness seem so easy for some but impossible for me?

Thankfulness is not always automatic—at times it has to be a choice. 

Pause and Reflect 

I chronically struggle with resting and staying still.

Doing is what I do best…or so I think. The moments where I can pray and reflect can just be plain hard. Do you have a similar problem? 

I have always considered myself a reader.

When I was younger my reading interests usually consisted of knights clad in armor, detectives solving cases, or young girls with patterned prairie dresses homesteading in the Midwest. Reading fiction, by no doubt, shaped who I am today and was a healthy, transformative piece of my childhood.

It’s Wednesday night and per usual I am sitting on our church’s patterned, cushion chair connected to a sea of others in my church’s sanctuary.

“Okay, you can split into your groups now,” says the teacher after giving us a recap on Sunday’s sermon. At the word everyone once seated stands up to find their prayer group. Everything is pretty routine. 

What are Attributes?

Knowing the attributes of God is one of the most important things we as believers need to familiarize ourselves with. Perhaps the title of this post or my opening statement intimidates you. Believe me, I understand. In some form knowing the characteristics of God should make us uneasy because God is so beyond us. Yet, neglecting who God is due to the sake of our uneasiness would be a mistake.