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Beauty That’s Hidden in Plain Sight
I stand in the Louvre Museum along with a few hundred tourists. All of our necks are craned to see one of the most famous paintings in the world: the Mona Lisa. Dozens of mobile phones and cameras are...
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Let’s Stop Saying “I’ll Pray For You” and Try This Instead
Suzie came to the edge of the stage and asked if I needed anything before I spoke to the women filling the seats. I had almost everything that I needed. Microphone. Check. Water. Check. Outline. Check....
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When “Let Go and Let God” Is Bad Advice
Sometimes “let go and let God” is bad advice. Let’s all take a deep breath and not let that sentence scare us. I understand why “letting go” becomes our default phrase when we want to live surrendered...
View ArticleThe Four Words That Will Free You From Needing Their Approval
She wanted to sign up for volleyball that winter. Then again, she didn’t. I watched my daughter from across the kitchen table, while our waffles grew cold. The sign-up sheet and a ballpoint pen sat...
View ArticleThe Lie That’s Keeping You from Stepping Up to the Plate
This is a story that begins on a high school softball field nearly sixty years ago. But make no mistake. This isn’t some old story about some old game. It’s a story about anyone who’s ever felt like...
View ArticleWhen the Holidays Put You in a . . . Squeeze
The mammogram room. The one place on earth where I feel utterly out of control and well, exposed. If you haven’t had one yet, don’t worry; it’s not so bad. It’s about as pleasant as you would imagine....
View ArticleWhen You Feel Rejected and Unseen
The other day, an email popped up in my inbox, one I had been waiting for expectantly. It was from a popular podcaster, and I hovered my mouse over the subject line. Weeks earlier, I had emailed the...
View ArticleThe Four Kinds of Friends We All Need
I was a first-grader. It was a warm spring day, so all of the kids had stripped off their heavy coats at recess and left them in a big pile. As I walked past the pile, I heard voices. The voices...
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The One Thing You Can Do Today to Stop Living Afraid
I have always lived afraid. One morning two years ago, I wrote those words in a blog post about how I’ve often been gripped by fear in my life — fear of failure, disapproval, rejection. Later that day,...
View ArticleHis Will. His Way. His Time.
I stood at a podium, looking out on an audience of Christian writers and bloggers. While speaking, I could see such eagerness in the women — wide eyes, pens poised, leaning forward. My view of the...
View ArticleA Palm Sunday Prayer
Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna...
View ArticleIt’s Absurd and Seems Reckless, but It’s True
Six new baby kittens were born on our Iowa farm a few weeks ago, down in the shed, next to an old TV set that hasn’t worked in years. I like to think of our newborn kittens as accidental therapists....
View ArticleYou Are Not a Hot Mess. You Are Brave for Trying.
Last fall, I started a youth group at our little country church. I was excited and planned a bunch of fun and meaningful activities for the kids. That first night, I stood under the white steeple,...
View ArticleDon’t Wait Until Tomorrow to Say What Needs to be Said Today
Recently, our little country church did what we do best. We rallied around our grieving brothers and sisters. The visitation and funeral were held under our steeple, and it was our great privilege to...
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Lessons from an Iowa Farm on Finding Hope in Hard Times
Every morning, I stand at the front window of our house, looking out over the gentle slope of an Iowa farmfield rolling down toward the road. Our crops are vibrant and green, and they wave a morning...
View ArticleThe Four Friends We Need in a Crisis
She was in the middle of a crisis, and suddenly she found herself in the middle of my embrace. Behind the closed door, with no one watching, she finally let herself fall apart. I can’t share the...
View ArticleHow Do We Celebrate When Those Around Us Suffer?
Our family got some terrific news last week. It was the sort of news that called for hands-in-the-air praise on the town square. But I was so reluctant to share the good news with the people who had...
View ArticleHow to Deal With People Who Try to Bring You Down
I recently got an email at 3:30 a.m. from a subscriber to my blog. It was the second email I’d gotten from her, and it was filled with such harshness and contempt that it made me literally gasp out...
View ArticleYou’ll Want a Pair of These Shoes for the Rugged Road
Can I admit something to you? It’s not something I am proud of. It’s not the sort of thing I want on my ministry résumé. But here it is anyway: I harbor so many unspoken fears about what my future...
View ArticleA Letter to Our Future Selves in the Age of Coronavirus
I wrote this post a while ago, in what I’ll call “the beginning.” The post was written back then for good reason: We have deadlines here at (in)courage. Our stories are carefully reviewed and edited,...
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