This year, the Houston Astros won the World Series. It was a big deal! (If you know me or my husband, you also know it is a big deal that we even know this information!) Although we’re not a sports family, we’re native Houstonians. We both grew up going to ‘Stros games. On top of...

There’s an intersection near my house that’s known for peddling. Sometimes there are puppies for sale, other times it’s rugs. But sometimes it’s prophecy. Signs warning me about “the mark of the beast” and the end of the world accompany a man in an old truck...

I have really fond memories of solitude. Being quiet on purpose to hear from God has become a spiritual disciple I cannot live without. I've written before about these rhythms of silence in my life and hope you'll consider ways to implement some quiet space into your life.

But, I also understand...

I never had a problem getting pregnant. It was staying pregnant that seemed to be my problem.

It was the fall of 2007 when those 2 pink lines first changed my life. My husband had signed a contract with a record label just 18 months earlier and our lives had becoming increasingly hectic. We had...

Since we first moved in to our house on Sleepy Hollow 6 years ago we've been dreaming up ways to showcase the Gospel in our neighborhood. One way we do this is by handing out hundreds of king-sized candy bars on Halloween. 

It was no surprise to learn that our street was a popular...

I vividly remember the first time I saw the movie Titanic. The passionate love between Jack and Rose awakened something fierce in my little preteen heart. I thought little of marriage before that movie. Now it consumed my thoughts and dreams.

For my friends and me, riding off into the sunset with...

"There are 6 things which the Lord hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: haughty eyes..." Proverbs 6:16-17a

"The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverted mouth, I hate."  Proverbs 8:13

If being a Christian was a sport, I would have had...

We all desire to have close friends within our communities, but it can seem so challenging to see that desire come to fruition! So what can we do? How can we work to create an environment where deep and meaningful friendships can form? This is exactly the question I was hoping to address at a...

"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it" (Luke 9:23–24).

Familiarity with these verses can often cloud their obvious meaning: to follow...

The longer you walk with God, the more dangerous the path.

It’s dangerous not because of hardship and suffering (though they may be present) but because of the temptation to rely on your ever-growing experience instead of on Christ alone.

Amplifying this temptation is the presence of many young...

For the Christian, the college years are often marked by grand desires to change the world in the name of Jesus and to dream of the impact you could have during your time on earth. It is a time filled with ministry opportunities and therefore marked by busyness for many young people who don't want...

I love you endlessly.I can’t live without you.You’re my other half.

Romance isn’t just for male-female couples anymore. You no longer have to wait for a spouse to enjoy the intimacy of an exclusive relationship. You can find it in your best friend.

Increasingly, statements like the...

"God doesn't need me."

Written with dry erase marker on my mirror, this phrase greeted me every morning in 2009. I had just started a job in youth ministry and loved it! Teaching the Bible to high school girls and modeling a life of prayerfulness and obedience to God was my dream job.

But over time,...

True friends are hard to find. 

They stick closer than family, and often know you better. They pray bigger things for you than you pray for yourself. They believe with you when your faith is weak. They make space for you when life falls apart, and they rejoice with you when all is well. Most...

Once upon a time, a father went away to war. Knowing it could be several years before his return, he gave his son a picture of himself in uniform. He hoped the picture would remind his son of who he was—a good father. And of what he was doing—fighting for his country.

The son truly...

Though we have more access to the Bible than any generation before us, most Christians still have never read it all. The abundance of biblical access, on smartphones and bookshelves, generally hasn't resulted in an increased personal knowledge of the Word. And yet our generation speaks very...

When we read our Bibles, it's tempting to linger over the big stories and hurry past the minor ones. David and Goliath are far more interesting and less complicated than Uzzah's irreverence (2 Sam. 6:6–11) or Phinehas's zeal (Num 25:1–13).

While the amount of "real estate" given to a...

I'm not sure when I became "spiritually mature," but it happened without me noticing. I simply loved the Bible because it gave me glimpses of the Living God. As my love for God grew, so did an insatiable appetite for all sixty-six books of His Spirit-breathed Word.

Then, somewhere along the way,...

I wrote this on our flight to India to finally meet and bring home our son. I hope it will serve to encourage you and strengthen your faith. - Kelly

In just a few days we will meet our son. Instead of driving to a hospital, we're flying to India. Instead of bringing home a newborn, we'll be bringing...

No Christian hopes to one day find themselves drifting from God. We don’t set goals to love other things most, to serve false gods, or to give in to temptation. But many of us, surprisingly, have found ourselves years into following Christ with an alarming companion: apathy.

Unfortunately, the...

Kara seemed to have everything Maddie lacked: she was organized, had great social skills, and was confident in her strong opinions. Maddie was insecure, awkward, and disorganized. Their friendship blossomed on the soccer field sidelines, as they watched their kids run drills at practice every week....

Being married to a popular songwriter and performer carries its fair share of interesting situations. I am often the target of people’s interest only because of who I am married to, receiving strange comments from fans about how “cute” my husband is and disappointing people with...

I’m skeptical of New Year's resolutions. Why? Because some days I don’t like being dependent on God, and a system of reform is an easy way back to self-sufficiency.

Depending on someone else is often painful. This is probably because I lived most of my life dependent on my own ability to...

I prayed. I believed. I trusted. I hoped. And in the end, I was disappointed. This December, like many before it, God's response to my prayers is no. No, your son will not be home by Christmas. No, that baby in your womb will not live. No, that marriage will not survive. Dashed hopes and...

For as long as I’ve been in church, I’ve known that sexual sin is a guy's struggle. Lust, sexual fantasies, pornography, masturbation. These were all things common to man, not common to woman. So what was I to do when my mom's Victoria’s Secret catalog arrived, and I secretly...