Messy Faith
- 			forget where you “should be” and “give God your ugly”But sometimes, the first step of surrender is admitting to God that you aren't ready to surrender. 
- 			What motherhood taught me about legalistic ChristianityBeing the perfect mom became my new legalism. 
- 			You may think the sky above is falling – but can you hear Jesus calling?I know you are scared, but I won't let you go. You aren't "too far gone" for me. I'm still here. I haven't gone anywhere. And I'm still loving you, holding you. I'm… 
- 			Cheating on my church: God is bigger than our denominational boxesBut that very brief time that I spent at that church didn't pull me down. In contrast, it really opened my eyes to a lot of things: I realized that the body of… 
- 			Roses in the dumpster: seeing God in everyday lifeBut God isn't nearly as far away as you think. Open your eyes. Look around you for his love - for his grace - today in the ordinary, in the human, in the… 
- 			Disconnect: when God just doesn’t seem relevantLife just got a whole lot bigger and scarier. But the God I knew was still small and stuck in the box I created for him with my incomplete understanding of his grace. 
- 			Modesty: a beautiful picture of God’s graceBut now, Christianity still so often promotes a system of modesty that is based in shame. We feebly and fearfully adopt "standards" and try to cover up our sin, our shame, with our… 
- 			Plan A, 2.0It was confusing...still believing in the ideal of being a "good Baptist girl" who followed her perfect husband into "full-time Christian service," yet realizing that not only was it probably never going to… 
- 			“I will keep believing that God still has a plan”Healing didn't happen overnight, and there were so many moments - moments like the summer of 2006 - that were pauses on the journey where I simply held onto faith in God's plan. 
- 			finding healing and freedom in secular musicWhat happened that evening in our home opened up a whole new world for me. I spent hours downloading music, checking out CDs from the library, and just laying in bed listening to… 
 
				 
				 
				 
				 
				 
				 
				