My 3 Favorite Books This Year...

One thing that God often uses to challenge and encourage me through various seasons of life is a good book, as well as a good Bible study. This year, there were several!

If you are looking to deepen your relationship with Jesus, or just want a good read to cozy up with your steamy cup of coffee, tea or hot cider as the air turns crisp this fall, consider checking these out. There are so many great authors and great books and Bible studies out there, but these are a few that were really meaningful to me this year.

Get Out of Your Head:
Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts

I can't get enough of this book - I'm still rereading it! This summer I read Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts, by Jennie Allen, while in a virtual book study. I loved it so much, I then led a book study with 4-5 others. I even downloaded the audiobook so that I could listen to it while working in the barn, walking or biking.

"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:5), is a passage I run to frequently. It is a constant struggle and a choice I have to make every day, every hour, every minute as my mind often runs away with me. But Jennie reminds us, "I have a choice!" I love how she shares her own experience along with practical steps to take control of our thoughts, all from a Biblical perspective.

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
- Romans 12:2

Be the Bridge:
Pursuing God's Heart for Racial Reconciliation



This summer I participated in yet another virtual book study with some other women as together we read and discussed, Be the Bridge: Pursuing God's Heart for Racial Reconciliation, by Latasha Morrison. I had an opportunity to see Latasha speak at a conference last summer and appreciated her perspective as an African American woman in the church as well as her heart for pursuing both justice and racial unity in light of the gospel of Jesus.

This book both challenged and encouraged me to continue to seek to understand those who are not like me, who come from different ethnic or cultural backgrounds and perspectives, while doing what I can to be a 'bridge builder' both inside and outside the church. And we look forward to the day that we will be gathered around the throne of Jesus with brothers and sisters from all time and all places as described in Revelation 7:9...

"After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb."


Nehemiah:
a heart that can break

Nehemiah is one of my favorite leaders and this study, Nehemiah: A Heart That Can Break, by Kelly Minter, is now a favorite! Nehemiah was a man who led from a heart that desired to follow the Lord and that broke for the desperate condition of his people and their city, Jerusalem. He led the people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem with great vision and much prayer and dependence on the Lord.

But the Lord also used the book of Nehemiah and this study as I entered into the unexpected journey of grief of losing my Dad this summer. One morning I meditated on the peoples' prayer recorded in Nehemiah 9 when they recounted all the Lord did for their ancestors before them. I wrote the following in the margin of my study...

"You see my suffering, You hear my cries, You divide the seas, You hurl the enemy, You lead me by day and by night and give me light on the way to take, You speak to me, You give laws that are just and right and good, You satisfy my hunger and thirst, You don't abandon me in the desert of my waywardness, You don't cease to guide me or show me the way, You give me Your Spirit to instruct me, You sustain me and I lack nothing."

4 days after writing those words, my Dad suffered a major stroke and passed away the following day. The words of Nehemiah 9 as well as my own words written in this study would continue to be an anchor and a source of light through the fog of the following weeks. "You sustain me and I lack nothing." I'm so very grateful how God meets us and speaks to us through His Word - He is a good Father who knows exactly what we need when we need it.

I would love to hear what books or Bible studies were especially meaningful to you this year!

Losing my Dad...

I'll never forget the day my mom got off the phone with the doctor and told us, "Your Dad has cancer." I walked in the house to find my Dad sitting on the couch, head hung, deep in thought and tears welling up in his eyes. As he looked up at me, he took a deep breath, mustered up his spirit of determination and said, "Well, I guess I have a mountain to climb."

Earlier this spring my Dad was diagnosed with Mesothelioma cancer - an incurable but very treatable rare cancer in the lining of the lungs. I asked friends and family to pray for his surgery the end of May to remove the lining around his left lung and part of his upper lobe. While it was a challenging road this spring, by late June the surgery report was so encouraging that his cancer stage was downgraded and his oncologist wasn't sure if he would need chemo or radiation at all.

Mid to late July he had a scary fall in the barn taking the full impact on the concrete to his chin and we were back at the ER. Thankfully he came out of it with 6 stitches on his chin and a few broken teeth, but no broken bones or jaw or any other head trauma. By the end of July we were moving upward again - his stitches and 3 broken teeth were removed and we saw his oncologist - still no chemo or radiation! He was getting stronger and healthier and coming out to the barn to help more as he was able, even driving the tractor to the field a few times.

But early Thursday morning, August 13th, I found him unresponsive yet breathing after suffering a major stroke in the night. Unfortunately, there was too much bleeding and swelling on his brain and nothing they could do. My mom, brother, 3 sisters and I were all able to visit with him and say our good-byes throughout the day, not knowing how long we would have but knowing it would be soon.

Friday morning, August 14th, I received the call from the hospice nurse letting me know he passed away at 6:49am.

As I sat on the porch looking out over the pasture and the cows grazing peacefully, the sun about to come up, I was deeply saddened to know I would never talk to him or look in his eyes again - at least not here. And yet I also breathed a sense of hope and peace at the same time, knowing that he knew and loved Jesus and that he was welcomed fully into His presence that morning. He met Jesus. He was fully healed. And I will see him again one day and get to spend eternity with him.

We already miss him terribly. I still expect to see him walking into the barn during chores or sitting on the couch resting or watching the news. I think we're all still in a bit of shock by the sudden turn of events after the roller coaster of the last 5 months. But I am so incredibly grateful that I chose to move back to Ohio and live with my parents on the farm for this past year. I had no idea what this year would hold, but Jesus did in His goodness and in His sovereignty.

I'm grateful for the past 5 months of pandemic quarantine spent with my family while working from the farm. I'm grateful for the hours spent with my Dad this spring and summer going to doctor's appointments, driving back and forth to Cleveland, and caring for him after his surgery. We had so much sweet time together this past year. Of course I wish I had more time with him, but I know eventually I'll have that again, just not here.

I appreciate your prayers for our family as we walk through this together. I can't imagine walking through this without each other and without the hope and peace we have in Jesus. And I know that if even one person comes into a relationship with Jesus because of my dad losing his life on this earth, it would be worth it to him. I keep praying that maybe Jesus would do that. My dad would be so honored and grateful. And so would I.

He was a loving, faithful man who loved Jesus and loved his family well. I'm so proud and honored and blessed that I get to call him my Daddy.

If you would like to read more about my incredible Dad and the legacy he left, you may find his obituary along with video from his Celebration of Life held Tuesday August 18th at the link below. It was a beautiful worship service, celebrating and honoring his life while also honoring and pointing to Jesus, the One he faithfully loved and served.

www.grfuneralhome.com/obituary/Robert-Smith

I'm Waiting...

I don’t like waiting. I mean, does anyone like waiting? Especially when you’re not exactly sure what you’re waiting for or how long you will be waiting. Ambiguous waiting is the worst.

It doesn’t matter if it’s waiting on traffic, the grocery aisle, the coffee maker, even the microwave! I get impatient. Of course, those are the trivial ‘waitings’ in life.

It’s even harder when I’m waiting on a medical answer or potential diagnosis for myself or a loved one.

Or praying and waiting for healing for someone I love – not knowing if the ‘healing’ will come on this earth or be complete eternal healing in heaven.

Or waiting in my singleness, praying for a husband, praying for the gift of biological children one day, but not knowing if that will still come in my time here on this earth.

Or waiting in quarantine in a time of global pandemic, praying for it to come to an end, praying for those on the front lines, praying for those fighting for their lives from this virus and those who love them but can’t be by their side. And yet, not knowing what the days, weeks or months ahead will hold, or how many there will be.

I’ve sensed the Lord saying the word ‘wait’ to me in recent months. Initially it was in regard to my singleness and the prospect of buying a home. Then it was praying for a friend who laid unconscious from a brain injury, pleading for her life. Then quarantine in a global pandemic. And now for medical answers for a family member.

In each case, “Wait…”

In the midst of events cancelling and seemingly all of life coming to a screeching halt earlier this spring due to the virus pandemic, I was emailing with my friend Dana about this time of waiting in quarantine and she replied to me:

“…like a seed that will germinate underground. You may not see what's happening, but rest assured something IS happening in the waiting.

Waiting. . . . interesting word. Question is, what kind of waiting am I doing? Forced, impatient wait? Squirming, fidgeting waiting? Hospital dread waiting? God is reminding me there is also another kind of waiting I want to consider… anticipation in my waiting. Hopeful waiting. Trusting, calming waiting. Heck, I may experience all of the above in one given hour (or minute!). It's good to identify it and ponder.”

Today, it’s Saturday – not just any Saturday, but the seemingly silent Saturday nestled between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. You don’t hear much about this day, and there isn’t much recorded about this day. Churches might have a Maundy Thursday service remembering Jesus’ Last Supper with His disciples, or a Good Friday service remembering the day Jesus suffered, was crucified and died. And they definitely have an Easter Sunday service celebrating the resurrection. But what about Saturday?

Saturday seems to be a silent day…of waiting. But waiting for what? We know that the Saturday after Jesus was crucified was the Jewish Sabbath day. The women who prepared spices for Jesus' burial rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment. I guess we can assume they didn’t go to the tomb where Jesus was buried, and they didn’t do any work. They rested because that’s what they were commanded to do.

Meanwhile the chief priests and Pharisees went to the high priest and asked that the tomb be sealed and guarded so that the disciples don’t try to steal the body of Jesus and deceive people that he raised from the dead. Other than that, it’s silent.

I wonder if that Saturday felt like the longest, most silent Sabbath for the disciples as they grieved the torturous death of their Teacher of the last 3 years. As if that wasn’t bad enough, they lost one of their own, Judas, their friend and fellow disciple, who betrayed Jesus – he betrayed them all, and then took his own life. I wonder if they were in shock, confused, mourning, maybe even sitting in regret or shame over their own abandonment of Jesus, or Peter in his denial. Was there any hope or anticipation in their waiting? Or only grief and fear and despair?

Just because we are waiting in a season of seemingly silence, doesn’t mean God is not at work. We know on this side of Easter Sunday that God was at work bringing Jesus back to life, defeating death itself, not only for His Son, but for all who believe in Him! He was in the midst of the greatest miracle possible while the women rested and the disciples sat in fear. The earth seemed dark and silent, but God was very alive and active!

This spring we will begin to plant seeds in the ground for a fall harvest. On the surface the ground will seem silent, but underneath those seeds are hard at work, germinating, taking in nutrients – the seed is breaking open and dying as the plant inside comes to life and begins to sprout, eventually breaking through the surface.

There are so many places in life where we are called to wait. And so many places in God’s Word where He calls us to wait, and tells us how. I can’t even begin to name them all. But there are a few that have stuck out to me through the seasons of waiting…

Psalm 27:13-14
I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.

Psalm 37:3-7a

Trust in the Lord and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light
And your judgment as the noonday.

Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him;

Psalm 40:1-3

I waited patiently for the Lord;

he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,

out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock

and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
and put their trust in him.

So how do I respond in my waiting?

Am I fearful? Hopeless? Despairing? Does the deafening silence cause me to question if God is present, alive or active? Do I begin to doubt His goodness or His sovereignty? Do I question if he sees me, hears me, remembers me, or cares? Do I remain idle because He seems so idle to me? Do I try to maintain some sense of control in my waiting (albeit an illusion of control) with busyness and activity?

Or do I cling to God, to His Truth, to His Word in my waiting? Do I choose to see the goodness of the Lord as I wait? Am I strong and courageous as I wait for Him to act? Do I trust in Him and do good as I wait? Do I cultivate faithfulness in my waiting? Do I delight myself in Him? Commit my way to Him? Rest in Him? Wait patiently for Him? Do I anticipate a rock on which to stand and a new song in my mouth? Do I praise Him as I wait? Do I hope in Him? Will others see Jesus in me as I wait?

Jesus, oh that I would cling to You in each moment of my waiting and be faithful and hopeful in my waiting. Whether it’s waiting in my singleness, waiting in this time of quarantine, waiting for answers or simply waiting for tomorrow. Help me to believe that you are ALWAYS at work – for your glory and my ultimate good, even when you seem silent to me. And when I grieve in my waiting, may I grieve, not as those without hope, but as one who has hope. I may not know what next year, next month, next week or even this next day holds, but I know the One who holds it. And because of that, I can hope and rest in You as I wait...

A Different, but not Distant, Holy Week

It is a different kind of Holy Week. But just because we are in a time of physically distancing ourselves from one another, our friends, family members, church families, doesn't mean that we must also be distant from the Lord or from engaging our hearts and minds in the events of Holy Week.

April is one of my favorite months of the year - fresh buds, flowers beginning to bloom, warmer days, Easter Sunday and my birthday - all wrapped up into one month! And Holy Week is one of my favorite weeks.

I have fond memories of Palm Sunday with the children carrying and waving palm branches while we sing, remembering the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem as the crowds shouted:

"Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!"

Mark 11:9

This week I would usually be coloring eggs with my nieces and nephews - lots of eggs. Some years we might attend a Maundy Thursday service on Thursday evening, remembering the Last Supper Jesus had with His disciples. Or a Good Friday service the following night, remembering the day Jesus was betrayed, arrested, and crucified on the cross.

Growing up, Easter morning began early with an Easter sunrise service led by the church youth, followed by a church family breakfast, then running home to get ready and return to church for Easter Sunday service.

I loved walking into church on Easter Sunday - the sanctuary surrounded by the sweet fragrance and colorful site of white Easter lilies, tulips, hyacinths and more as sunlight poured through the colorful stained glass windows. There was much fellowship and rejoicing, singing beloved Easter hymns of Jesus' resurrection and victory over death!

After church it was on to hiding candy filled eggs with my sister around the farm for my nieces and nephews to hunt, followed by a family dinner to celebrate Easter and April birthdays. (This year I was especially looking forward to Easter as it falls on my birthday!) Sunday evening I typically collapsed with a sweet sense of exhaustion from a very full but memorable day, and week.

This year it will be different. No attending church services, egg coloring with my nieces and nephews, or gathering for an Easter egg hunt and large family dinner. But that doesn't mean I need to be distant from the purpose and meaning behind all the activities of the week.

In fact, maybe this year gives me an opportunity to focus MORE on the events of Jesus' life that Holy Week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday without all the extra activities. Maybe this is a chance to connect more deeply with the Lord as I follow His steps through that week in His Word.

I will be using the following reading plan, to read through the events of Jesus life this week:

An Inspirational Reading Plan to Refocus on Holy Week during COVID-19

I invite you to join me! Whether you choose to use this plan, or another, join me for an incredible journey following the footsteps of Jesus in His last days on earth!

We may be physically distant from one another this year, but it doesn't mean we have to be distant from God's Word or from meeting with the Lord or even from sharing what we are learning with others!

As we enter into this Holy Week, I pray that you will experience the presence of Jesus in a fresh way. I pray that you will gain fresh new insights from His Word this week. I pray that you will have a rich and wonderful Holy Week, focused on the One who made it Holy.

How are you grieving the loss?

We have been hit with more change and news from day to day in the past couple weeks than might seem possible to process—case numbers of COVID-19 growing by the day, universities moving classes online and even sending students home for the semester, companies instructing employees to work from home, schools sending students home for an extended ‘spring break’, churches holding services online, and of course everyone stocking up on toilet paper! These are unprecedented times and that brings many unknowns. And unknowns can bring fear of the unknown.

BUT, we serve a God who is KNOWN. And despite the current health crisis we face in our country and around the world, He is still GOOD, and He is still SOVEREIGN. He is the King of the Universe, and He sits on His throne in a sure Kingdom. And we are His beloved children and part of His Kingdom! So what is our role and responsibility as the Church to continue to spread the Love and Joy and Peace and Hope of the Good News of Jesus, without unknowingly spreading a virus to those around us, and to protect those who are especially vulnerable?


On Friday I learned the limitations and restrictions my organization is taking. Like many others, suspending travel, postponing projects and conferences, limiting numbers of those that should gather at one time. For me personally the news means that I will not be travelling to Western Asia this summer as planned (a place I love with people I love). In addition, I was in the midst of planning and leading a conference for the spring that has now been cancelled, or postponed.


Sigh... So many cancellations, or postponements yet to be rescheduled. I understand and agree with these actions—I believe they are necessary and wise. In fact, because I currently live with my parents (who are 79 and 84) I have been choosing to stay in for the past week, and will continue to do so. But we have all gone through a bit of emotional and mental whiplash over the last couple weeks.

There are many losses and unknowns in this season. And I feel completely out of control, but then I realize that I was never actually IN control - my sense of 'control' is really only an illusion, right?! And all these losses and unknowns and lack of control brings grief. WE'RE GRIEVING. Our whole country, our world, is grieving. And you know what? It’s okay to grieve the things we are missing or longing for right now. It’s okay to be sad, angry, frustrated, confused, even scared. Jesus invites us to the throne to lay our whole selves at His feet, even our sad, disappointed, grieving, stressed out selves.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:38-29)

As you take care of your health in this season or take care of those around you, what are you doing to take care of your heart? How are you doing? What are you sad, angry or frustrated about? What are you learning? How are you clinging to the HOPE and PEACE promised in Jesus in the midst of the chaos? And what do you need (emotionally, spiritually, mentally, physically) in the coming days and weeks?


As you care for your health and the health of those around you, I pray that you will have the space to also process all that you are experiencing internally. I pray that you will lean into Jesus with your whole self and hear from Jesus through this time. I know He wants to hear from you. He told us, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest..."

A Decade of the Unexpected...

Welcome January 2020. A new month. A new year. A new DECADE. Moving into a new calendar has a way of making us reminisce, look back over time. Recently I have seen countless Facebook and Instagram posts and pictures from the last 10 years, how life has changed – marriage, babies, relationships, jobs, moving, hair styles, etc. etc.

TIME. It changes us, right? Time heals all wounds? You just need time? No. Actually, time in and of itself does not change us. It does not automatically heal our wounds, mend our hearts, reconcile relationships, make things better, etc. Time is, however, a vessel through which change may occur. But we are not promised that change will be good change. The change we experience over time depends on how we steward that time. Do we lean into change and growth and healing, or do we run from it or sit idle, hoping that time in and of itself will make things better?

As I look back over the last decade, from January 2010 to today, I am beyond grateful for the change and growth that has taken place in my life, by the grace and mercy of Jesus. In some ways the last decade has flown by, and in other ways feels like a lifetime of growth and change…

I limped into January 2010 in a heart-broken place. I thought I would be entering the new year married, but I didn’t. The previous year I was in a relationship that we both thought was leading to engagement and marriage, but that all came to an end that summer. No engagement. No summer wedding planning. No fall wedding. Rather than celebrating what I thought would be my first Christmas and New Year married, I was grappling with my shattered dreams, a loss of a significant relationship, and fighting the acceptance of the ‘singleness’ status once again.

I knew in my head that God was still good and sovereign, but not in my heart. I was devastated. How could he do this? Much more, how could God do this? How could He bring me seemingly so close to engagement and marriage only to yank it away? And would I, could I, ever meet anyone again? I processed with dear friends. I went to counseling. I wept. I cried out to the Lord. I grieved…

Over time, as I leaned into Jesus and into my pain, my disappointments, my anger, my sadness, my fears, and as I allowed His truth and grace to permeate into my mind and heart, I began to experience the Lord’s deeper healing in my heart and in my life. I even began to look back and be grateful for the relationship and see the ending of the relationship as God’s GRACE to us both. I learned a deeper lesson about grief and how to grieve. I gained a greater empathy for those who go through broken relationships – dating, engagements, marriages. I began to see that I had placed this relationship as an idol in my life. And while I still desired marriage one day, in some ways marriage itself had become an idol – something I had to ‘achieve’ to feel accepted, valued, loved.

In the midst of grieving that relationship I stepped into a new leadership role in ministry. I thought it would be temporary, but as my heart began to heal, I experienced a new freedom in life, in ministry and in leadership. I was leading! I experienced it and others affirmed it. I didn’t understand how I could be leading in the midst of such personal pain and brokenness, but it was the beauty of Jesus’ light shining out of my broken jar of clay. The more broken the jar, the greater His light escapes through the cracks (2 Corinthians 4:6-7).


March 2013 I began this blog, starting with a 3-part post about Choosing to EMBRACE, GRIEVE and CELEBRATE Singleness – and people read it! And they liked it! Greater healing, growth, and freedom continued - emotionally, relationally, spiritually and physically. I even trained and completed my first duathlon that August in Indianapolis - something I never imagined doing before!  In fact, I have now completed that duathlon 4 times in the last 7 years. And when I was least expecting it, the Lord called me out of my stability of living with the same roommate in the same apartment and working in the same office of the previous 9 years. He called me out of the role I had come to enjoy and thrive in, the team and co-workers with whom I loved working. He called me out of the city I had called my home. And he called me back overseas to a place I once lived 10 years prior. I place that was dear to me, but was also ‘home’ to much health and emotional hardship.

January 2016 I stepped out of my leadership role in ministry, I packed up my belongings, and I headed back to Western Asia for a year of unknowns. It was a transforming year living once again in a place I lived 10 years earlier, but in a new way. I was healthier, stronger, more resilient. Maybe because I had learned the value of how to be broken and dependent. Don’t be mistaken – it was still hard! But it was also very sweet. And I have no regrets.

February 2017 I returned to the States and later that year stepped into a new leadership role in our ministry – a leadership role I never would have considered, but has been the exact place the Lord has called me to live out my calling for this time and place. And August 2019 I moved back ‘home’ to northeast Ohio, close to family, close to our family farm, to continue in this new role in ministry.

Friend, 'the Lord redeems the years the locusts have eaten' (Joel 2:25-27). I never would have fathomed that the Lord would take me back to Western Asia, or that I would have the opportunity to take students with me in the years following. I never imagined I would be that person along the road out running, biking, training for races and completing duathlons. I never imagined I would move back to northeast Ohio where I could see family on a regular basis, attend nieces and nephews music concerts and basketball and football games. And I never imagined I would be writing posts about broken relationships, singleness, the pain and joy in the journey.

As I look back over the last 10 years, it’s been a journey. A journey I never expected or ever imagined. This decade, Jesus has seen me through 7 moves (including 4 different roommates plus my parents), 2 states, 2 countries, countless hours in my car (the same one!) and miles in the skies, 4 more nieces and nephews, unexpected health scares and hospital visits with my parents, loss of a dear friend to cancer, 4 ministry role and team changes, leadership opportunities and challenges, broken relationships, new relationships and more.

Yes, there has been pain in the journey. There has been loss, grief, loneliness, countless change and transition. But there has also been joy in the journey. There has been healing, redemption and restoration of past pains, personal growth and greater freedom to live out who God has created and called me to be. So I’m grateful for the unexpected journey with Jesus of the last decade, and I can only look forward with hopeful anticipation of the next.

And so as I enter this next decade, whatever or whomever it brings, how I pray that I would run the race marked out for me, keeping my eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

AMEN.

Cultivating the Attitude of Gratitude

We’re coming up on Thanksgiving, which is a great time to stop and think about what we are thankful for. Learning the significance of cultivating the attitude of gratitude is one of the most important lessons I have learned, through seasons of both plenty and of want. In fact, did you know there is a connection between gratitude and mental health?! Psychology studies and science and are increasingly confirming the connection. But it shouldn’t be surprising to us. God’s Word commands, encourages and challenges us to be thankful multiple times!

"Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 106:1

"be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:18b-20

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

So here are a just a few things I’m thankful for in this season!

I’m thankful for my family.

Moving back to northeast Ohio this fall and currently living with my parents has allowed me to see and spend more time with my family in simple day to day life. This fall I have attended football and basketball games and choir concerts for my nieces and nephews. I have spent many hours with my dad and brother in the barn or in the fields. My brother and I have even logged many miles on almost weekly bike rides this summer and fall! I am so grateful for a family that enjoys spending time together, that laughs together, but most of all, that loves Jesus and seeks to walk with Him and know Him more!

I’m thankful for God’s Word and the Holy Spirit who teaches and challenges me.

Last month I began a Gideon study by Priscilla Shirer. This small yet powerful story of Gideon is found in Judges 6-8. This has been timely in my life. I could write pages about what I am learning and how the Lord is using it in my life (but I won't). ;) I love how the Holy Spirit knows just what to teach and speak to me through God's Word at just the right time!

I’m thankful for God's creation and time on our family's farm.

In addition to more time with family, moving back to Northeast Ohio has allowed me extended time on our family's dairy farm where I was raised. I come alive outside in His creation; listening to the singing birds and rustling leaves, taking in the fresh air and feeling the warm sun, watching the dogs play and the cows graze in the pasture, and most recently taking in the brilliant changing colors and landscape of the trees. I even love the exertion of manual labor in the barn. Working on the farm might be physically tiring, but it also brings me life!

I’m thankful for many ministry opportunities.

The Lord has been so gracious to allow me to come alongside some incredible ministry leaders who have their 'boots on the ground' on college campuses and lead teams of precious staff and interns. It is such an honor and privilege for me to run with them. And He continues to give me opportunities to return to Western Asia, where I lived and served in the past. Not only do I get to return, but I get to take other staff and students with me and introduce them to this city and country and people that I dearly love! What an honor to be used in the stories that God is writing in the lives of others!

I’m thankful for friends and ministry partners!

I am beyond grateful so many dear friends and ministry partners, who partner with me through support and/or prayer along the way! The Lord has blessed me with a precious team of ministry partners, and I couldn't invest the best hours of my day in ministry the way that I do with them!

So how do you cultivate the attitude of gratitude? And what are you thankful for? I’d love to hear!