I don’t know who I’d be without my faith. It’s the “something” behind everything in my life – the thing that sustains me and keeps me going. While BTD has become a brand in and of itself, it is still in many ways a very personal space for me to share who I am. And since my faith is such a large part of that, it’s only natural that I’d talk about it. In the BTD “Faith” Category, you’ll find posts about faith-based books, podcast recommendations, and plenty of discussions about the things God is stirring in my heart.
For a lot of us, the coming of Easter means all good things. Warmer weather, spring clothes, pastels, sunshine, bunnies, and egg hunts are the things that we think of most if we’re really being honest. And we know what Easter is really all about: Jesus. It’s the day that Jesus arose from the dead and redeemed us all from our sins. And YES, Easter is a really, really happy day.
At some point or another, I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all wondering how to pray – if we’re doing it right or wrong or even where to begin? Sometimes thinking about praying to an invisible God that we can’t *actually* talk to feels a little weird and we get a bit insecure. Or at least I know I do – and I consider myself a seasoned “prayer…
While I was praying this morning, I spent some time giving some really hard, intense thought about how I’m spending my time. What IS the most important thing I can be doing? How DO I need to be prioritizing my life? The reason why I get so serious about this stuff is because I seriously want to be living in a way that glorifies God.
One of my MOST frequently asked questions is what the best small group bible studies are or whether or not I recommend any. And after getting this question time and time again, I decided it was time I dedicate an entire resource page on my blog to answering this question. I intend to keep this updated as I learn more and discover additional studies.
In Philippians 4:11, Paul talks about contentment; he says he has learned how to be content in all circumstances. It’s kind of funny if you read it; in typical Paul fashion, he says it super matter-of-fact. But I don’t think he means it’s the easiest thing to do. I think this is something he had to fight for every day. (Remember this is a single dude, who had sacrificed marriage and embraced singleness for the good of his gospel work. Before his death he will be shipwrecked, separated from friends, and imprisoned multiple times.)
If you could only pray for ONE thing right now, what would it be? We all have SOMETHING. Come on, be honest with yourself. What’s the one thing you feel is missing from your life and if you just had “x”, THEN your life would be “better”. Maybe it’s a baby or to lose 10 pounds; meet new girlfriends or get promoted at work. Or maybe it’s a new career entirely or to finally meet the partner of your dreams... Or you just wish you could find (or afford) a nice house for you and/or your family. Whatever it is, we all have a prayer or something we really wish God would just GIVE us or DO for us because we *think* the other side of whatever that thing is will be better. And maybe it will be. Wanting these things isn’t a bad thing - many of our desires are God-given.
Here’s the run-down on this sermon: It’s all about understanding and overcoming anxiety and worry in our lives. This is a really important topic for me because I’m for sure a worrier! I love this sermon because it explains the issues in depth, but is also super practical.
Let’s talk about how to follow Jesus. But not all at once. That’s a big topic! But I want to at least START the conversation with you by sharing parts of my story. Because we could talk about different aspects of what it means to follow Jesus all day long. But in general, I would like to start talking about what following Jesus looks like in my life on a more…
Every once and while I listen to a podcast or read scripture that gets me SO. FIRED. UP. about eternity in Heaven. I mean I know I should be fired up about this all the time, but the truth is…I get distracted. I mean, come on. But this is one of those podcasts. If you are going through a struggle – big or small – you’ve got to listen to…
Remember that (recent) blog post I wrote on comparison and not feeling good enough? A few days ago I read it again and felt like something was missing; like it wasn’t finished. Because there’s actually so much more going on behind the scenes; and I feel compelled to share it with you despite my fear of communicating poorly and lacking eloquence. (Side note: I always struggle with this but I’m…
I want YOU to know that it's okay not to be okay. Life is full of ups and downs, good moments and bad, sad times and happy, new experiences and the boring mundane. Not every day will be happy and not every season will be peaceful. You're going to face hard stuff in this life. And when you do, let yourself feel; remember it's okay to fall apart and it's more than alright to not understand what you're feeling or how to accept things as they are.
A few months back, I shared my top 5 fave christian podcasts with y’all and promised that I would start a new series here on BTD surrounding all things podcasts. Well, I know it’s been quite some time but I’m finally BACK with another (faith-based) podcast-themed blog post for y’all! Today I’m going to be talking about a podcast I listened to recently by pastor John Piper called “If My Words Abide in…
Have you ever wanted to read the entire bible and….totes failed? If you’re like me, you’re too scared to commit because you know you’ll get bored or confused or just straight up overwhelmed? I’m super ADD so sitting down and reading anything (much less 1000k+ pages) is pretty overwhelming, especially when I don’t understand what the CHECK is going on (which is how I feel for 65% of the old…
Do you remember this post where I shared some of my personal favorite faith-based podcasts and let y’all know that there was more to come? I haven’t forgotten about it! I’ve done a bunch of research, listened to tons of new podcasts, and have written down each recommended podcast you guys sent. (Thanks so much for all your feedback, by the way!) The podcast world is HUGE, and there are…
I've been wanting to share my thoughts on my favorite podcasts (Christian and in general) for almost a year now - it's one of my most frequently asked questions on here, Instagram, AND Snapchat. I'm thrilled to finally be sitting down and knocking this out! After I got a few hours into working on this post, I realized that I had SO MUCH I wanted to say and information/resources I wanted to give y'all. Because of that, I decided that I MUST break this post up into a little mini-series, focusing first on Christian podcasts followed by my favorite that aren't Christian based.
When was the last time you slowed down? And I don’t mean took a nap or binge-watched a few Netflix episodes. I mean really STOPPED to actually slow down and embrace a little nothing-ness. I’m talking about intentionally pursuing stillness for the end goal of accomplishing nothing other than sheer rest – and not necessarily the sleeping kind either. Nowadays, I feel like slowing down is just as difficult as keeping…
I’ve sort of always believed (or hoped) that the longer I was a christian, the holier I would become. When I think about it in a metaphorical sense, I could explain it (holiness or intimacy with God) as this mountain I’m climbing. And my hope is that the harder I climb and the faster I run, the easier it will become to live this life (on Earth, with God). My…
I used to have all this information on my #BeStillBeBright page on the blog, but I wanted to migrate all of it into a blog post so that it would be part of my content rather than just a static page on my blog. Also, I wanted to expound upon a few of these resources and add a few more, so moving it to a blog post was the perfect…
