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His Nearness is My Good
Have you ever become so frustrated at what was happening in the world around you, feeling either helpless to know what to do or so sure that you had the right answers and infuriated that others couldn’t see them too?
A Sound Mind is a Controlled Mind
I am an excellent storyteller. The kind of imagination that writes up worlds of tales of lives I’ve never known. The kind that can whip out an off-the-cuff bedtime story on the spot, fit with all the voices. But mostly, I wildly excel at telling stories of the...
Contentment vs. Ambition
Our culture seems to always be speaking to us in the competing narratives of: DO MORE vs. DO LESS. On one hand, we should all be doing our part of contributing and have dreams and goals that we are reaching towards and wanting to make the world a better place. On the other hand, we’re taught the importance of rest and contentment and being present and enjoying where we are right now. So how do we reconcile these two seemingly opposing streams of thought?
Practical Steps for Valuing People as God Values Them
As an imperfect human being in an imperfect world full of imperfect people, is it even possible for us to see the value in every person? On our own strength, maybe not. But thankfully, because we have been redeemed by the generous love of a giving and forgiving God, we too, can begin to see others through a Heavenly perspective.
Start Embracing the Value of Today
Both the past and the future do have their importance, however, giving in to the propensity to time travel in our thoughts and emotions can leave us missing the one day that we have right now–today! The present is our place of power. It’s where our decisions are made. What we do with today determines the moments that make up the story of our lives. Regardless of yesterday and preemptive to tomorrow, your today counts! Not only for you, but for those who will come after you.
Discovering Personal Purpose
What is my personal purpose? This question can be very high stakes and very stressful if we allow it to be. It can lead to larger looming questions like, “Why am I here?” and “Does my life matter?” As Believers, the answers to these questions are found in our identity in Christ.
Why You Should Become a No-Gossip Zone
Gossip is often seen as harmless and many times even celebrated; it can be a hobby and one that feeds the feel-good chemicals in our brain--the same ones that other toxic addictive behaviors can trigger. It releases a rush of phantom inclusion and a high of personal satisfaction. Should we then all run to find the nearest victim and engage in this exercise of happy hormones? Not so fast.
Holy & Kind
God is holy and His holiness reveals our absolute need for a savior. He is a perfect God and He does require us to live a life worthy of our calling in Him. But He is simultaneously compassionate and merciful and full of grace. He is so kind that He reveals the areas of our lives that are hurting us and keeping us back from the abundant life that He has for us. His correction does not belittle us; it expands us and invites us into a better way of living.
We’re Not In Competition
I recently gave a group of children a large floor puzzle to assemble. They quickly went to work, but unbeknownst to them, I had withheld a few pieces when they weren’t looking. As they neared their completion, they realized that they could not finish the job. I asked them to look at all the pieces and tell me if any two of them were the same? They said no...
O Holy Night: Hope for the Nations
I love Christmas! I love the whole season. I love that moment on November 1st when people start packing up their ghoulish and dark décor and start unpacking the twinkle lights and ornaments and our part of the northeast begins to smell of spicy cinnamon and fresh pine.
Fear Is Not My Master – Katie Stansfield
When I was around four-years-old, I remember one cool October night I was watching a VHS tape of 90s Christian music legend, Ron Kenoly with my dad. It is important to note that as a small child in a Christian, Jesus-loving home, I had never been exposed or taught...
Praying the Overflow – Katie Stansfield
Sometimes I read the Psalms and I get a little lost in them. My heart begins to wander beyond the words of the author on the page. I love the Psalms for their purity and the honesty in the struggle they often convey. They don’t always have rhyme or reason, but they do have a great deal of personality. You can connect with the language even if it isn’t yours.
Run In – Katie Stansfield
Several years ago I had a vision of myself running furiously forward. I was running and I hit this soft wall that enveloped my body. I kept running forward into a presence that had so captured me that I knew in that moment that all my life I would refuse to stop running into it. It had become the motivation of everything that I was and the only response that I could give to this great presence that surrounded me was to run and to run and to run head on into it.