It’s not very often I am left speechless, but that’s exactly what happened as I listened on the other end of the line to my Development Director reporting a rich blessing bestowed upon Bridgehaven this Christmas season. In an instant, my fears and worries,...

I’ve always had to find “my spot” anywhere I have lived. At my parents, it’s an old recliner looking over the living room. In Cedar Falls, it’s a coffee shop filled with college students working on homework, building relationships with each other, and, of...

To be honest, I haven’t felt very jolly this month. My heart has been broken a lot.  As I drive to various community organizations to lead groups and educate women, I pass by colorful Christmas lights and smiling yard inflatables of Rudolph, and the...

“…God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is...

My heart is full of thankfulness today. As the financial assistant at Bridgehaven, part of my job is to process all of the monetary gifts that we receive to support our ministry. As I do this, I encounter many names (maybe yours!) that are very familiar to...

A couple days ago during our staff prayer time here at Bridgehaven, one of our staff members handed out a blank list to all of us with the title, “Ways I have seen God work”. The list had 100 different lines numbered on it, and we were challenged during...

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11  You and I have never met. There’s a good chance you’re not aware that I exist. But you changed my...

Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! Psalm 42:11 We have so many reasons to feel hopeless. To feel deep discouragement and a sad heart. The finalization of a divorce that wasn’t wanted, a devastating diagnosis for a...

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference. I have this prayer sitting on a card in my room, and I glance at it almost every day. Sometimes, when I glance at...

Do you love new things? Do you like change? If you answered yes, we can’t be friends unless you are talking about new planners or new jeans. Not shopping for jeans, just the actual having of a great-fitting pair of jeans. Anyway, new things are scary and...

Sometimes, we face seemingly impossible situations. We come face to face with something we didn’t plan for, we didn’t necessarily desire, or didn’t feel like we could handle. At times, our mind and heart take us through every emotion, and other times, we...

Imagine with me. You see a little girl, possibly just six years old. She has long, blonde hair pulled into tight ringlets. She’s wearing a little dress that has just the right amount of poofiness, with a pair of white pumps, perfect for going to church....

Dance like no one is watching (even though the whole world is watching via Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat…) This is Havi. She is barely two. She has no idea that she has just danced before the world. No inhibitions. Just the admiration of her parents, a...

Some mornings for me are harder than others. Some mornings, or should I say very few mornings, I wake up feeling energized and ready. But most times I argue with God about getting out of bed, and He lovingly reminds me of His mercy and the new things He...

As I was growing up, I always dreamed of being a teacher. Just like my mom. I saw and heard stories of how she impacted people’s lives every day, how she inspired youth, and how she was filled to the brim with passion for seeing others succeed. I thought,...

A couple weeks ago, my little girl walked up to a mannequin in the men’s department at Younkers, threw her arms around its legs, and smiled up at me. “Look! It’s my daddy! Is it my daddy?” she asked. I froze. My heart shriveled in fear as I stood looking...

If your summer is anything like mine, the tops of your legs are sunburned and you probably should have invested in stock for Fels-Naptha. For those of you who do not know what in the world I am talking about, you are most likely not a baseball mom....

Yesterday morning in our staff prayer time at Bridgehaven, Rachel Pheasant, our Marketing Coordinator, shared a very touching and convicting blog she wrote a few years back about an experience she had during a trip to Rwanda. It sparked great conversation...

Every few years this very old, very dear book, It’s Me, O Lord , wanders off my bookshelf and drops into my hands,  usually at a time when I need to be reminded not to take myself too seriously.  In one of her poems, “Too Old to Run,”  author Anne...

Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. –Joshua 1:9 We did it.  We planned, prepared and executed another annual gala.  But somehow, it was different.  It had a new...

Man. Don’t we all just get caught up from time to time in plans we create in our minds? Plans we create because we don’t think something is moving fast enough. We want it to look a certain way. We think it will give us a greater sense of peace. Or when we...

I know something about you.  Yes, you. Regardless of your marital status, age, ethnicity, gender, income, beliefs, height, or weight– I can tell you with certainty we have something big in common.  We both want to be happy. I know this because it is a...

“The Lord doesn’t call the equipped – He equips the called.” Jacob was a liar, David was a murderer, Elijah was suicidal, Rahab was a prostitute, and Peter denied Christ. Despite their failures, wrongdoings, and flaws, they all aided God in different ways....

I consider myself a glass-half-full kind of gal. But I will tell ya’, there are things of this world that really get me down or bring me to a dark place of discouragement and hopelessness. As I write this, I am attending the MLK50 Conference streaming live...

“What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” (Matthew 26:15) For the times I handed You over, Lord, for popularity and acceptance, have mercy on me. For the times I handed You over, Lord, for comfort and ease, have mercy on me. For the...

Easter is such an amazing and anointed time to testify the goodness and consuming love of Jesus, the victory of the cross, the gift of forgiveness, the tearing of the veil, and friendship accessibility we have with our Redeemer! May we make and take...

As the Israelites journeyed through the wilderness in the book of Exodus, there’s this constant cycle and theme of God’s provision, a restlessness from the Israelites leading to grumbling, fear, and self-reliance. God hears their grumbling and again...

“Every time we are introduced to someone new, try to be creative or start a difficult conversation, we take a risk. We feel uncertain and exposed. We feel vulnerable. Most of us try to fight those feelings – we strive to appear perfect…when we shut...

At the 2015 Care Net conference, Roland Warren, President of Care Net, shared with us and other pregnancy support centers from around the country that God had given him a vision. That vision was to see pregnancy support centers re-evaluate and incorporate...

To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. John 10:3. Over the holidays, we were delighted to spend some time in Indianapolis with five of our six grandchildren. This year, my husband,...