Notes from the journey
Scripture I keep coming back to, and real-life stories from the middle of it all. Pour a cup of coffee and stay a while.
Highlighted
Scripture Reflections · 41 postsI read the entire Bible in January. Now I'm revisiting my highlights and blogging about why each verse stood out.
Careful
Jotham was the son of a king who fell in pride. He took the good of his father's life and left the bad. We can too.
Read post →What Rises in Pride
What we see playing out in our culture today is not new. King Uzziah was the same story. Power. Pride. A line crossed. A public collapse.
Read post →The Gospel Hiding in the Law
Tucked into a chapter about a king and his enemies is one of the clearest pictures of the gospel I have ever seen.
Read post →2 Chronicles 22:12
Athaliah ruled for six years thinking she had wiped out the royal line. She had not. There was a boy in the temple. And he was the rightful king.
Read post →2 Chronicles 20:15
We default to fighting. Strategizing. Hustling. But sometimes God says sit down, watch, and let Me handle this one. Those might be the hardest seasons to obey.
Read post →He Did Not Even Pray
Same Asa who once cried out to God against an army of a million. Now he is sick and does not even pray. The progression is sobering.
Read post →Firmly Established and Drifting
Rehoboam followed God when he was desperate. The moment he was firmly established, he walked away. And he brought a whole nation with him.
Read post →I Have No Idea Why I Highlighted This
I almost skipped blogging this one because I cannot remember why I highlighted it. But that is part of what makes the Bible alive.
Read post →Solomon Decided
If you only had 2 Chronicles, you might think Solomon woke up one day and decided to build a temple. But we know better.
Read post →Be Strong and Do the Work
David did almost everything but the building. Then he handed Solomon the plans, the vision, and the God he had walked with personally.
Read post →A Man of Unusual Wisdom
Tucked into a list of gate assignments, one man got a little extra next to his name. A man of unusual wisdom. What would your line say?
Read post →It Has to Cost You Something
David had a free altar, free oxen, free land. He said no. Because an offering that costs you nothing is not really an offering at all.
Read post →Fall Into His Hands
David had three brutal options. And he picked the one that put him in God's hands. Not because it would hurt less. Because of mercy.
Read post →1 Chronicles 20:5 & 7
Two giants, one verse each, no fanfare. David's courage against Goliath cracked something open for generations. One act of obedience can echo for years.
Read post →1 Chronicles 17:16
David sat before God and asked, who am I that you would bring me this far? He knew what he was really like, and God used him anyway. So it is with us.
Read post →1 Chronicles 15:13
The first time, they moved the Ark however they wanted. David learned to stop and ask God how. Comfort is not the same as reverence. What are we carrying without asking?
Read post →1 Chronicles 14:10
Saul went to a medium. David went to God, won, gave God the credit, and then burned the idols. Do we celebrate the win but leave the idols sitting on the field?
Read post →1 Chronicles 10:13
Saul ran to everything except God, and we do the same in different clothes. Google, AI, three friends, a poll. A reflection on asking God first, not last.
Read post →1 Chronicles 1:19
I do not usually stop in the genealogies. But this one name, Peleg, meaning division, sits right on top of the Tower of Babel. God leaves threads to pull on.
Read post →2 Kings 20:6
Hezekiah's tears were heard. But the rescue was also for God's own honor and a promise made generations before. God moves for reasons bigger than just us.
Read post →2 Kings 8:13
Some passages are meant to make us uncomfortable. Elisha wept over the prophecy and Hazael called it great things. Sometimes the right response is to just sit with it.
Read post →2 Kings 2:17
Elisha had the cloak and had walked through a parted river. Then they pressured him until he caved. Being chosen by God does not make you immune to people-pleasing.
Read post →1 Kings 22:5
Jehoshaphat stopped to ask what the Lord said. Then they heard the truth, got angry, and did what they wanted anyway. How often do we do the same thing?
Read post →1 Kings 18:46
God gives special strength. Most of the time it does not look like outrunning a chariot. It looks like getting up when you have nothing left and showing up anyway.
Read post →1 Kings 17:9 & 12
God told the widow before He ever sent Elijah. She had to start cooking with nothing, and the provision showed up in the middle of the obeying.
Read post →1 Kings 13:23
"After the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him." Stay in the Word. Know His voice.
Read post →2 Samuel 14:14
"All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away..."
Read post →2 Samuel 7:18
"Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and prayed, 'Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?'"
Read post →2 Samuel 6:9
"David was now afraid of the Lord, and he asked, 'How can I ever bring the Ark of the Lord back into my care?'"
Read post →2 Samuel 5:19 & 5:23
"So David asked the Lord, 'Should I go out to fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?'"
Read post →2 Samuel 2:26-27
"Must we go on killing each other? Don't you realize that bitterness is the only result? How long before you call off your men from chasing their Israelite brothers?"
Read post →1 Samuel 30:24
"Who will listen to you when you talk like this? We share and share alike, those who go to battle and those who guard the equipment."
Read post →1 Samuel 22:1-2
"So David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. Then others began coming to him, men who were in trouble or in debt or who were just discontented."
Read post →1 Samuel 16:18
"He is a brave warrior, a man of war, and has good judgment. He is also a fine looking young man, and the Lord is with him."
Read post →1 Samuel 15:17
"Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord has anointed you king of Israel."
Read post →1 Samuel 14:8
"All right then," Jonathan told his armor bearer. "We will cross over and let them see us."
Read post →Judges 2:10
"After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel."
Read post →Deuteronomy 21:23
"The body must not remain hanging from the pole overnight. You must bury the body that same day, for anyone who is hung on a pole is cursed in the sight of God."
Read post →Exodus 24:11
"And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence."
Read post →Exodus 20:20
"Don't be afraid," Moses answered them, "for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning."
Read post →Exodus 14:15
"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!'"
Read post →Christian Living
Essays · 6 postsLove Is
Love is tying a shoe for the 30th time. Love is making dinner, just sitting down and needing to get up to get someone seconds. Love is action.
Read post →The Two Hardest Words in the English Language
Hand me a dictionary. I know there are some words in there that would be challenging for me to say. But the two hardest words for me to learn to say were, "I'm sorry."
Read post →Teach Your Children Generosity
One of my earliest, most impactful lessons in generosity happened one Christmas when my parents gave us the opportunity to donate a portion of our Christmas money to a family in need.
Read post →Grace
I have been hurt. By Christians. By the people that are called the church. I have my fair share of stories of unfair, unloving, and downright mean ways the church has treated my family and me.
Read post →Shhh He's Sleeping
Acts 12. Peter is in prison, about to be tried and most likely executed the next day, and guess what? He was soundly sleeping.
Read post →The Stupid Elevator
Sometimes the smallest moments teach us the biggest lessons about patience, surrender, and trusting God's timing.
Read post →Reading the Bible in a Month
I read the entire Bible in a month and it changed the way I read Scripture. This free guide has the lessons I learned, the tips that helped me finish, and the reading plan I used. Subscribe and I will send it straight to your inbox.